Azur Lane: The Story
by PiedpiperofTamlyin
Summary: What happens when a dishonorably discharged Naval officer finds himself thrust into a world filled with anime girl manifestations of famous ships? PS: There will be action, plenty of dialogue and some comedy
1. Denial of Peace

(AN: sorry i forgot to put this up first. This work is a work of fiction. All characters portrayed here are owned by their company and I in on way have any ownership of the characters.)

**0000000000000000**

'Why?' was the singular thought running through her mind as she ran through the dense forests, her left hand tightly clutching onto the little girl behind her.

'The war is over,' she thought, ducking and weaving her way through the barrage of cannons firing at her and her escort 'everyone fought against overwhelming odds and we lost so many lives.'

'Watch out!,' cried the young voice behind her and the lady saw it too late. The sound of a shell whistling through the air was the last thing the two of them heard before the projectile exploded in front of them, knocking out the lady in the process.

The little girl was spared from most of the shrapnel but the injuries on her were still considerable. She tried to get in touch with others, send out an SOS to anyone else in the vicinity but the enemy was already a step ahead of them.

But their enemy was a step ahead of them. They had blocked all communications from leaving the island before launching an attack on the pair.

'No reinforcements, no way out…' thought the little girl, dragging the unconscious woman to a large ditch created by one of the shells. 'At this rate… we might…'

She thought about her situation and how dire things had become. She knew that this was the end and there was no way out. Yet in the midst of all that, there was still a part of her that hoped. Perhaps it was due to her listening to the many stories of the famous fleet from years and how they did the impossible, perhaps it was the belief that maybe, just maybe, someone would notice this attack and come to their aid.

In the midst of this destruction and chaos, she hoped and prayed with all her strength that someone would save them.

**000000000000**

"For insubordination towards a commanding officer, you are found… guilty," said the judge, his voice firm and unwavering, his gaze fixated on the piece of paper held firmly in his hand and on the soldier who stood in the centre of the court.

"For disobeying a direct order that jeopardize the outcome of the mission, you are found….. Guilty," added the judge, listing off a number of other offenses and misdeeds conducted by the soldier in question.

"In light of these and other charges levied against you, you are dishonorably discharged from the Navy," said the Judge, banging his gavel "May God forgive you for your sins."

The man in question remained silent as his Commander marched towards him, removing the medals that proved his worth during his service. The man saw his Commander did so with a degree of reluctance and who could blame him? It was almost like a father being forced to abandon his son because the Government told him to.

And who was this man that fate decided to curse? His name did not matter. What mattered were the circumstances that led to this moment.

But that would have to wait as the Commander gave his surrogate son one final salute and the man did the same. Turning around, he walked out of the court, past the hallowed halls that welcomed him in so many years ago, never to return.

As he slowly marched towards the gate, questions swirling in his mind, he thought about his life till now. The man was one that had a difficult time growing up. An absentee mother and an abusive father led him to run away from home at an early age, eventually leading him to the army. He was able to lie himself in and was initially content with having a roof over his head and food in his stomach. That all changed when he was subjected to the incredibly demanding and rigorous training regime every army famously has. This was done to weed out the weaklings and retain only the stubborn or strong-willed ones.

Persistence and the fear of not having any basic needs forced the man to push himself to the breaking point and beyond, till his actions caught the attention of a certain higher up. This man was a Navy commander and a decorated officer. The Commander took the man under his wing, shifting him from the army to the Navy. Though the training only got worse, there were various benefits that made the experience worthwihle.

One such benefit caught his attention as he neared the gate. The man was surprised to see his shipmates assembled by the gate, dressed in ceremonial uniform.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked he, surprised by this gesture from his friends "you know they're going to court martial you all."

"We've already got that covered," said one of the lieutenants from the third row "Doc's got our alibi all set and no one on the base is going to speak out against you."

The man gave a little scoff, lowering his head in an effort to hide the tears starting to form in his eyes. The subject of his dismissal was a controversial one. During one operation the man and his shipmates were sent into hostile territory to assassinate a certain 'troublesome' person. While the assassination itself went off without a hitch, the escape was a complete disaster, thanks to faulty information provided by an incompetent Sergeant.

At numerous points during the escape, the man was ordered by his Sergeant to abandon his teammates, leaving them to their doom. Of course, the man did not do that and made sure he was the last person to get on the boat before leaving.

Once they were safely among friends, the man wasted no time in voicing his opinions by striking the Sergeant down with one fist. It took half a dozen crewman to keep the man from kicking the Sergeant's face in.

Of course, this action had a repercussion and the Sergeant used his contacts in high places to make it look like he was innocent while the man was the fool that nearly got his team killed.

And that pretty much summarizes the events that led the man to where he was now. It went without saying that this news spread through the camp like wildfire, with many agreeing in favor of the man, but not voicing their opinions for fear of what might happen.

"It's a real shame they're doing this to ya," said a woman, taking a few steps forward and patting him on the side.

"Meh, I'll figure something out," said the man, with a fake smile trying to bring some levity to the moment "I always land on my feet."

"I know," said the woman, looking at him with an equally fake smile "it's one of your best qualities."

It was then that the group split down the middle, followed by them saluting the man. The man let out a deep breath as he walked past his crewmates. These people were indeed a family to him and as he left the army base, he felt a heavy weight on his heart as he wondered how he would survive without the structure and discipline he had so long.

The man quietly made his way down the street, his thoughts filled with what comes afterwards. He had no parents, no family that he knew of and no skills to survive in a world outside of the military.

As much as he wondered about what to do next, the sudden sound of an artillery strike snapped him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

'What the?' thought the man, scanning his surroundings. He was no longer walking down the street of a city, his back towards his army base. He was now standing in the middle of a forest, with the sound of gunfire echoing from all around.

"What the hell?" said the man, still trying to figure out how exactly he got here.

"You came," said a voice from behind. The man immediately whipped around and saw a young girl wearing a beret with a cross pendant on it standing before him.

"Thank goodness," she said, smiling at the man.

And so the pages of a new story have begun to turn.

This is the story of a world thrust into a brutal and vicious war from an enemy beyond the stars. This is the story of old bonds forged once again, new bonds made and the arrival of an otherworlder, who created a storm like no other.

This is Azur lane.


	2. A Soldier's Mind

AN: shout out to Peake the Cat for pointing out that transition error. I have updated the chapter and made the necessary corrections.

0000000000000000000000

Question after question raced through his mind at break-neck speed as the man trying to make sense of what was going on. One moment he was wondering what to do with his life now that he was not part of the army, and the next….. He was suddenly in a forest.

He was equally concerned about the girl infront of him and what she said.

His mouth slightly opened, ready to ask one of the many burning questions on his mind but another volley of cannon fire dismissed the idea entirely. Instead, his mind, one honed from multiple military drills and exercises took over as a list of objectives and priorities formed in his mind, which took precedence over everything else.

**Protect the civilian.**

The man raced forward, grabbing the beret wearing girl in his arms before she could say anything and darted through the dense forest. Given, how some of the shots were close while others were too far away to be a concern, the second objective in his to-do list was automatically achieved.

**Do they know where we are?**

The sound of the shelling said that the enemy was guessing their location. The noise produced also told him that they were on an island or were somewhere near the sea. The enemy must be comprised of a few cruisers and two destroyers. Standard military procedure dictates that after a period of shelling, they would send out a strike team to comb the area and neutralize the hostiles.

Running through the ideas and objectives in his mind, the man failed to hear the cries of the girl he was holding. Deciding that she had to take a more forecful approach, the girl took in a deep breath before yelling out to him as loud as she could.

Hearing her, the man stopped and asked "What's wrong?"

"We need to head back," said the girl "we have to go back and save Hood."

Aside from the question of why someone would name themselves Hood, the man agreed that no one should be left behind. He asked the girl which way her friend was and she pointed southwest.

**Gather all allies**

During his training in the Navy, his Commander drilled the idea that his crewmates were his family and family always watched out for him. It was an idea that took some getting used to, but the man did indeed see that way. As a result, whenever he was sent on an operation with his team, he would always be the last one on the escape boat or plane in an effort to ensure that his entire team was present and accounted for.

The motto 'No one gets left behind' was not just a string of words he spouted from time to time. It was his mantra, words that he lived by and was why nearly everyone on the base had great respect for him.

As he kept running through the dense forest, he noticed the shelling had stopped. Tactically this was when the ground forces would come in and it was also the ideal time for an escape. Although his knowledge of the area was minimal at best, the man was able to get a general idea of where the ships were firing from. Conventional wisdom dictated that once he found this Hood person, the three of them would head in the opposite direction, hopefully to civilization where they would regroup and figure out what to do next.

Soon enough, the pair came upon a woman lying in a ditch, blood on her face, her right leg and arm.

"Alright, we don't have much time," said the man, putting the girl down.

"First off, what can you tell me about this place?" asked the man.

"We're on an island, with a dense forest on the west side and a beach on the east. Hood and I came in from the west."

"Which means that's where the enemy is," said the man "any chance you have a radio or way to get in touch with your allies?"

But the girl only shook her head.

"Are there any other small islands nearby?"

"There is," said the girl nodding her head.

"Alright here's what we're going to do," said the man "you crawl on my back and I'll carry Hood. We'll head towards the beach and then swim out to the nearby island. There, we'll wait for the enemy to get bored and leave. Hopefully by then, your friends will realize something's wrong and send some help."

As the girl was about to get on his back, the pair heard a light groan. They turned to see Hood, stirring, followed by her rising up and rubbing the scratch on her head.

"Hey don't scratch it or it'll get infected," said the man, moving her hand away.

"Wait…" said Hood, looking dumbstruck at the man "you're the…. The otherworlder."

The man paused for a moment, the woman's statement answering the one burning question in his mind.

"I know you have questions and believe me I have a lot to ask as well," said the man "but we can do that when we're all safe and sound."

Hood nodded in agreement and said "my name's Hood, the girl behind you is Z23."

"Right… intros," said the man, slightly taken aback by the woman's need to follow decorum at a time like this. "I'm….."

But he could not finish his sentence as the sound of an explosive shell landing close to them, causing everything else to take a back seat. The girl, Z23 got onto his back, while the man put his arms around her legs and then picked up Hood.

Making sure that the two of them were safe, the man quickly started running in the direction Z23 pointed towards.

"Um, sir," said Hood in the middle of the running "I know this might be a troublesome time to ask you this but…"

"Hood I'm sorry for sounding rude but you can ask me anything you like after we're out of the fire."

"Then let me ask," said Z23, resting her head on his shoulders "aren't you finding it difficult carrying the two of us?"

"Not one bit," said the man, smiling. Compared to the times he's had to carry his tactical gear in basic training or the times he waded through swamps and beaches or the times he's had to carry some of his injured squadmates through active battlefields, the two of them were as light as a feather.

**Escape plan**

Any military officer worth their salt will tell you the most dangerous of an operation is the escape. Once an operation is carried out, extracting a team from a hotzone is monumentally important. It is during this time that any number of problems or 'hiccups' might occur. These problems range from having the escape vehicle late, a particular road being blocked off at the last second and most of all, the team getting lax. When an operation commences, the strike team is in a state of total awareness. Even the slightest change in their surroundings is quickly noticeable and taken care of. However, that awareness is not fully present during the escape. This lapse in judgement is the line that decides whether everyone is coming back home in bodybags or not.

The man noticed how the sound of gunfire started getting fainter as well as the forest also getting a little easier to run through. Feeling a short sense of relief, he slowed his pace down a little in an effort to catch his breath

Soon he saw a clearing and feeling more relieved, the man came out of the forest, stepping out of the frying pan….

And into the fire

"Oh no," said Hood, her voice trembling in fear at the sight before her.

It turns out the enemy was shooting at the forest, not to try and find them but to try and force them into a clearing, where half a dozen destroyers and heavy cruisers lay in waiting. But the sight of these ships and their weapons trained on the trio was not what concerned the man at all. No, his attention was focused on the fact that the ships were floating high up in the air.

What's more was that the ships were flanking a woman with pale skin, light purple hair and glowing yellow eyes. The cherry on top of this crazy cake was that the woman had what looked like ship cannons and other naval weapons on her side.

'Yep,' thought the man at the realization that the escape plan just went down the drain 'I don't think there's anything else that'll surprise me.'

What any soldier would also tell you is that things rarely go according to plan. It is during these times that a leader's ability to adapt and keep a level head are truly tested.


	3. Last Stand

"Hood," cried Z23 "what do we do?"

"This is bad," said the woman "we're terribly outnumbered and over powered here."

"We need to run," said the man, turning around and heading right back into the forest. Although it meant he'd be back to guessing the enemy's location, it'd also mean they'd have to guess where he was and that seemed like the only viable option he had on the plate.

"Oh, I don't think so," said the woman floating in the air, as she extended out her right hand. In response, the cannons attached to her sides fired a volley of shots, landing in-front of the escaping trio, blocking them from the forest with a wall of fire.

"You've made me waste an ample amount of time chasing you through this jungle," said the woman, drawing closer to the trio "Ah, so this is how you managed to avoid our ships for so long: the otherworlder."

"What makes you think that I'm this 'otherworlder?'" asked the man "I could just be an innocent bystander."

"Doubtful," said the woman, now floating a few centimetres from him "seeing as you are the first male I've seen in this world."

'And that's one more thing to add to the list-of-important-questions-to-ask-once-we-get-out-of-this-mess,' thought the man 'assuming we survive that is.'

"Hey," said the woman, floating dangerously close to the man "why not join my side?"

"Huh?"

"Think about it, we've got the superior technology and the numbers," said the woman, extending her arms out, gesturing to the squad of ships behind her "we'd love to have someone of your talents on our side."

"Z," said Hood, looking like she had heard enough.

In response, Z23 landed both her feet into the alien woman's face, sending her flying back. If that wasn't enough, she also formed weapons on her side and fired a light barrage of gunfire at the target.

"Wait a second," said the man, clearly shocked by this move "you guys also have that weapon thing too?"

"Of course we do," said Hood in a matter-of-fact way "but it will take me some time to get my weapons loaded and ready."

"Alright till then I'll keep you safe," said the man.

"Thank you for your kindness sir," said Hood, smiling a little "but how do you plan to keep us safe in the midst of all these attackers?"

"By doing what I do best," said the man "and that's run like the wind."

Although the plan of running around in an effort to avoid cannon fire was about as smart as pissing into a tornado, it was a lot better than simply standing in one spot and praying for a miracle to come.

That was the train of thought that led the man to run across the wide open beach, making it somewhat difficult for the ships floating in the air to attack him. He noticed on the ground, Z23 had fired off a few more rounds from the guns on her sides, all of them doing some damage to one of the destroyers, but not enough.

Then he saw the destroyers cannons turn, their barrels aimed at Z23.

"Hey, what are you doing?" shouted the man, "dodge, now."

"Huh?" asked Z23, caught unawares by the sudden outburst.

"DODGE!," the man yelled and the girl did just that. Not two seconds after she jumped away from her spot, did that place get hit by cannon fire from the destroyer.

"What the?" asked Z23 "how did you know where it was coming?"

"The thing was pointing straight at you," countered the man "it was obvious."

"I had no idea they would fire like that," said Hood, causing the man to slide to a halt.

"Question," he said, "when you face an enemy, what do you do?"

"I face them head first and straight forward," she replied.

"No tactics?"

"Hmm?"

Another new fact leading to another new question. But as the man pondered this, Z23 rushed past them shouting "could you be a couple a little later?" before jumping to the beach and sliding on the surface of the water.

Rather than voicing his opinion against the pairing (which was what Hood was doing), the man noticed how Z23 was sliding across the water, similar to the way speedboats worked and that's when it hit him.

'The HMS Hood of the British Navy,' he thought, looking at the woman in his arms, while dodging fire from the flying alien ships. Through some strange and inconceivable manner, he was holding a human manifestation of a ship. This explained how both the floating girl and Z23 could make weapons form on their sides, and how the latter was able to nimbly move across the ocean surface.

"Um, sir," said Hood, drawing his attention to her.

"You can fire now right?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Yes, but how did you…."

"i'm a quick learner," said the man, letting her down. In response, Hood two pairs of large cannons formed on her side (one of which nearly knocked the man back due to him standing so close.) The cannons then took aim at the ships which were now targeting Z23.

"Wait," shouted the man, "don't shoot yet."

"What? Why?" asked Hood, clearly not agreeing with the idea, but the man's attention was focused on one of the turrets. He stared intently at the ship then turned to Hood.

"Fire at those guns," he said and Hood nodded. The two large cannons on her side sent out a volley of shots, all of which hit the intended target. To Hood's surprise however, the explosion created was two times larger than her regular attacks.

Confused, she looked to the man, who smiled and said.

"If you hit them just before they fire," said the man "your ammo causes their ammo to explode, thus doubling the explosion "In that way you'll be able to take out those annoying ships with less effort."

Surprised and taken aback by the analytical nature, Hood wanted to say something, but she noticed Z23, starting to get overwhelmed by the enemy forces.

"Sir," she called out "please take me to Z23. With your eye for detail, I believe we'll be able to make it out of this."

Nodding in agreement, the man quickly scooped up Hood and raced towards the beach.

"There's something else," she said, while they were running.

"Hmmmm?"

"Please take this," she said, holding out a medal to him.

"But I haven't done anything worthwhile yet to deserve a medal."

"Sir, the medal is a sign of leadership and right now we need a leader," she said "we need you to become our Commander and lead us against the Sirens."

"Me?" he asked and she nodded.

This was certainly a turn of events that he never saw coming. Disgraced and kicked out of the military, the man now had the opportunity to reach a rank never thought possible. But the question in his mind was, was he deserving of the title?

'You know what, just take the medal and roll with it for now,' he thought 'pretty soon there's going to be someone who'll come along whose more capable of leading and then you can hand the reins over to them. Till then they need help and like it or not, you're all they've got.'

"I accept," he said and despite how harrowing the situation was, Hood gave him a warm smile.

"From this moment forward, you are the Commander," said Hood, pinning the badge onto his shirt. "Please take good care of us."

He said nothing. Instead, he spun around and pointed his hand at another cruiser. Hood understood the gesture, forming a cannon and firing at the target with devastating effect.

"Sweet Jesus that was loud," shouted the Commander.

"Commander, can you hear me?" called out Hood "I think the noise from the cannon may have made you deaf."

"WHAT?" shouted the Commander "I CAN'T HEAR YOU HOOD. I THINK THE NOISE FROM THE CANNON MADE ME DEAF."

"Guys," shouted Z23 "stop standing there and start running."

"HOOD," he shouted "I SHOULD STOP STANDING AROUND AND START RUNNING."

"I've had just about enough of this," said the female siren, pointing her guns at the escaping duo and firing. The Commander heard the sound of artillery coming towards him and quickly ran to his right side. Although he dodged the brunt of the explosion, the hot sand it created was sent flying in all directions and some of it dug into his back.

The female siren continued firing at the two, but the Commander was able to dodge her attacks, while sustaining minimal damage. Rather than fire another shot, she took a moment and studied his path, realizing where he was going. With that in mind, she aimed her cannons a little ahead of him and fired.

The Commander heard the sound of another artillery strike coming his way, but judging from what he heard, it was going to hit a few feet ahead of him. With the little time he had left, he stopped his advance and turned around. Although he was able to avoid the brunt of the blast, because he was so close, the shockwave it created sent him and Hood hurtling into the air, before the pair crashed violently into the ground.

"NOOO!," screamed Z23, seeing this and making a bee-line towards the two.

Right before he hit the ground, he was able to calculate where Hood was going to fall. WIth that in mind, he used whatever strength he had left to craw his weakened body over to her. He tried to open his eyes and get a brief glimpse of the fallen woman, but he could not keep his eyes open for long. That may be due to his legs feeling numb or the gaping wound on his side or that his right arm was still on fire. No matter how you look at it, the newly elected Commander was not doing so well on his first mission.

**000000000000000**

Sensing that this was the end, the female siren slowly came towards the pair. She gestured for the other ships accompanying her to keep Z23 busy. In her mind, victory was all but assured. Yet as she drew closer, she saw something strange.

Rather than try to run away, the human male positioned himself between her and the downed woman.

**000000000000000**

"Well then come on," shouted the Commander, using whatever strength he had left to stand and force his eyes open.

This was pretty much the dumbest thing he had done. He was barely conscious, heavily wounded and could barely stand. He was about as dangerous as an animal on their last breath.

He knew it, the floating alien girl knew it and so did Hood. Which was why she got to her feet and swiftly rammed the side of her hand into his neck, effectively knocking him out.

Seeing this sudden turn, the female siren halted her advance. A costly mistake as Hood took advantage of this and formed her guns to fire a volley of bullets that blew off the siren's right arm.

"Hood," yelled Z23, coming to her "Hood, we have to get out of here, come on."

"Sorry dear but I think this will be my last sortie," said the woman with a pained smile "you should take him and go."

"But why? He's not anyone special. We can always find another otherworlder," pleaded Z23 "there's only one of you."

"We could, but do you think they'd be ready to throw themselves into danger like he did?" asked Hood and the girl was surprised.

"He…. did that?"

"Yes. He has a strong will and a kind heart. We'll need someone like him to unite our forces under a single banner. I believe in him Z and I want you to as well."

"But Hood," said Z23 "if we leave now, then you'll."

"I know dear," said Hood, gently putting her arms around the little girl. Although the circumstances behind their meeting created a negative first impression, the two came to care for one another and develop a sisterly bond in the process. As such, to say goodbye to someone you cared for for so long, was a tough ask.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you, I truly am. But for this world to know peace once more, then sacrifices must be made."

Tears flowing down her eyes, Z23 wanted to say no, but she could not. She wanted to stand alongside her sister and greet the end together, but that would be a wasted effort. Right now, her goal was to save that man. If Hood believed in him this much, then she had to too.

With that in mind, she put the man's unconscious body on her back, looked at Hood one last time before darting towards the sea.

Two of the floating ships tried to turn and stop her, but Hood fired at them.

"How dare you," said the female sire, her voice seething in anger "how dare you do this to me?"

"I SWEAR I'll MAKE YOU SUFFER."

But Hood did not listen. Instead, she formed her weapons one last time and in a loud voice she declared:

"I am the HMS Hood of the Azur Lane. I stood with Bismarck at the fall of the Neon Gate and I was there when we drove you back to your shadowy home. If this is to be my last stand, then I'll be dragging you to hell with me."

They say that an animal is most dangerous when it is near death. This is because at that time, the animal wants nothing more than to live and so, will do everything it can to stay alive. It is true that animals and humans treasure life above all else and so living, even for a second longer would be the only thing a dying animal wants.

However, there is a level of strength that is far greater than this, but it is one that is rarely seen. It is called 'The Last Stand.' It is when a human or a group of humans are faced with overwhelmingly impossible odds, but still fight on with everything they have. Whether it be for people they loved or for a better world than the one they lived in, Human history is littered with stories of soldiers who went down fighting.

In the days that followed, Hood's last stand would become the catalyst that ignited the greatest fire this world had ever seen.


	4. What happens next

Among the people he became friends with during his tenure on the Navy, there was one man in particular that he got along with well. That man's name was Kazuya Strauss or Kazu to his friends. Whenever they went on shore leave, he'd stay at Kazuya's house and together, the pair would spend days on end catching up on all the movies, TV shows and animated series that aired during their deployment.

There was one particular movie the two saw that had a lasting effect on the man. To be more precise, a scene in a movie that left an impression on his mind, which remained that way. The movie was the 2009 remake of Star Trek, Directed by one J.J Abrams. The scene in question revolved around Captain Christopher Pike trying to convince a young James T. Kirk to follow in his father's footsteps. At one point in the conversation, the Captain said

"Your father was Captain of the Starship for twelve minutes…. He saved eight hundred lives. Including yours. I dare you to do better."

On the surface it seemed like a throwaway line used to help drive the plot forward. But in the mind of the man who watched that movie for the first time, it brought out a simple and deep question: If that man could save so many lives in twelve minutes, how many can you save during your lifetime?

**000000000000000000**

He opened his eyes, first seeing the roof of a thatched hut then hearing the sound of gulls squawking and waves lapping against the sea shore. For a moment, he thought that everything that happened to him was a dream and that he was back in reality.

That moment faded when he felt a tightness all over his body. He moved towards the nearby wall and clambered himself up till he was sitting upright. It was only now he saw the bandages covering his body, remembering the beating he took.

Just then he saw a door open, through it came Z23, holding another set of bandages.

"You're awake," she said, looking a little relieved "that's good."

"How long was I out?" he asked, watching her place the bandages on an old table.

"A couple of days," replied the girl "it was touch and go at the start but at least you're better now."

He could sense the anger in her voice. She was answering politely not of her own volition and he knew why.

"Hood…" he said, noticing her fists clenching at the mention of her name "she didn't make it, did she?'

"How did you know?" she asked, looking genuinely surprised at the question.

"She wouldn't have knocked me out like that if she was coming with us," he replied and Z23 lowered her face.

"Sitting here feeling sorry isn't doing anyone any favours," he said, tossing off his bedsheet and putting his feet to the ground "there's a lot that needs asking and it's high time I get up to speed on things."

"But Commander," said Z23 "you're still not fully able to move around."

"If I sit here waiting, I… we'll never get anything done."

"But…"

"Every second I'm here doing nothing, those sirens are causing even more trouble all over the world," said the Commander, his voice no look meek or subdued "I get the feeling Hood wasn't the only one who died trying to get me here was she?"

Her silence was answer enough.

"If it took a mountain of lives to bring me here then I'm only spitting on their sacrifices by sitting here on my ass."

"Oya, oya someone's woken up antsy," said another voice from the entrance. The pair turned around to see a green haired girl in a white dress standing at the door, her curious expression scanning the Commander from head to toe.

"Hello Commander, my name is Akashi and welcome to my humble home," said the girl walking towards the Commander. The Commander noticed that the dress the girl wore was a lot larger than her, which explained why he could not see her hands and instead saw what looked like a few tools.

"Well then Commander I'm sure you have plenty of questions, but first off let me tell you where we are," said Akashi.

As much as it was important for him to listen to the explanation being given by the girl, the Commander's attention was drawn towards two features that the girl had which he did not see on Z23 or Hood.

'Cat ears… Cat ears. She has cat ears and a tail,' he thought, trying to make it look like it wasn't a big deal, but it was.

Akashi was in the middle of her explanation which was why she didn't notice it. The Commander's hand came forward, resting on her head followed by him gently stroking her head.

Z23 was surprised by the action and took a step back in what was to follow. Although Akashi is helpful in inventory management and healing, she did not like being touched: especially on the head. Many a times there were girls who wanted to pet her, only to have the latter slap them away when they came too close.

Z expected the Commander to either get slapped away or get a tongue lashing but neither of those things happened. Instead, she saw Akashi get visibly calmer, her expression becoming blissful as the Commander kept patting her head.

"Commander," shouted Z23.

"What?" he asked, like what he was doing was normal.

"And what's wrong with you Akashi?" asked Z23 "why are you acting so calm about this?"

"Well it is the Comnyander," said the girl "it's not like he has any ill intentions with Akashi."

"Ah, by the way," she said, turning to him "from now on I'm calling you Comnyander alright."

"Sure, but you need to explain everything to me again," said the man "I kinda got sidetracked for a moment there."

"Very well," she said and headed out there "please follow me and I'll show you around our base."

With that said, the Commander left the hut, along with Z23. They spent the day having Akashi take them around the base and explaining the facilities that were available.

First was the oil and coin shop.

As the name said, the buildings produced oil and coin. Oil was required for the girls to use their weapons when sortieing and coins were used by the Commander to purchase various upgrades and improvements to use for the girls or for the base.

"That's cool, can we go inside?" asked the Commander but Akashi stopped him.

"We can't", she said

"But…"

"We can't," she said again and this time the Commander agreed.

Then there was the dorm, which looked worse than the place he was in. The Commander decided not to go inside for fear of accidentally stepping on a weak wooden board and falling right through it.

"How do we improve this place?" he asked

"We'll need a special currency for that," said Akashi "also, here Comyander, this is for you."

Akashi reached into her right sleeve and took out a tablet, which she gave to the Commander.

"Thank you," said the Commander, taking the tablet "now I want you to tell me everything there is to know about this world and how the sirens fit into this."

Akashi looked at Z23, who nodded and turned to him.

"As you know, this world is where the ships of your world take human form," said Z23 "not all ships are given form though, only the ones who managed to get into your history books."

"How we came to be and why the ships only manifest as girls are mysteries none of us have been able to solve," she added and he nodded for her to continue.

"Two decades ago, we were attacked by beings from beyond the stars. They're called the Sirens. They possessed technology superior to our own and thus had better weapons than us."

"So how'd you drive them back?"

"Through the formation of the Azur Lane," replied Akashi.

"The Azur Lane was a team of ships who hailed from different factions of our world. They were Amagi, Atago, Bismarck, Jean Bart, Hood and Avrora."

"These girls decided to work together towards the greater good. In doing so, they had the remaining factions form an alliance with one another and together, they launched a frontal assault against the Siren forces."

"But it didn't go well did it?" asked the Commander.

"Like I said, they were better than us in technology and power," said Z23 "even though we had the numbers on our side, a lot of us were sunk by the Siren forces."

"But the main members of the Azur Lane pressed forward. One by one, they gave their lives until finally, Hood was able to deal a definitive blow against the Siren flagship, sinking it and causing the other Sirens to flee as a result."

"We won the war but a lot of lives were lost in the process. This was only made worse when the alliance came undone and everyone split into their old factions, each one trying to get the better over the other."

"And now, the SIrens decided to pay you guys back huh?" he asked and the duo nodded.

"We don't yet know why they're coming after us, but they will not stop until all of us are dead," said Akashi, sounding grim.

"Alright," he said, taking a seat on the park bench, where they told him the story "First thing we're going to need is to strengthen our forces. We're no danger to anyone much less the Sirens if we don't have a sizable fleet to back us up."

"But Commander," said Z23 "aren't you going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"What your role is in all this?"

The man paused for a moment then said "it doesn't matter. Sure I could say that this is your problem and I have no part in it, but that's not the kind of person I am. Whether it was luck or fate that brought me here, I'm here now and rest assured I'll do everything I can to end this war."

**000000000000000**

It was late at night. Z23 was sitting on the beach, watching the waves brush against her toes, not thinking about anything in particular.

She heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her and turned around to see the Commander.

"Thought I'd find you here," he said, but she turned away, not in the mood to respond.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much do you hate me right now?"

"Twenty,"

"Yeowch, that's harsh."

"You wouldn't understand," she said "you don't know the pain of losing a friend, a comrade you became so attached to."

Given they way she spoke, the Commander understood she had no idea that he was a military person and knew about losing people better than anyone else. But he decided not to say anything about it. She was grieving and if being her punching bag would help, then that's fine.

"Yeah, that's true," he said, putting his hands behind his hand in a non-chalant way "but there is something I want you to know."

"What's that?"

"I'll prove to you that Hood was right in making me a Commander. And I'll never forget the lives that were lost to bring me here."

Those words seemed to have struck a chord with Z23 as she got up from her place and turned to him.

"Good," she said, now looking at him "and if you forget don't worry. I'll be sure to remind you."


	5. Answering the call

"First things first," said the Commander to the pair "we're not going to do much if we don't have enough people to help. A fleet isn't made up of two or three soldiers."

"With that in mind, I've gone over the list of possible targets and have landed on this one," he said, pointing to an island not too far from their base.

"Thayt's the place operated by Hornet," said Akashi.

"Hornet was part of the Eagle Union right?" asked the Commander.

"She was," replied Z23 "originally, the EU was led by Enterprise, but after the fight with the sirens…. She was KIA."

"As a result, the remnants of the EU have become pirates, attacking ships indiscriminately and hoarding a vast supply of resources."

"So they've got people and resources," that's good coz we need both of them."

"One thing though Comnyander," said Akashi, raising her right hand up "how do you plan on attacking them? We don't have the numbers on our side so a frontal attack is downright suicide."

**00000000000000**

It was late at night, the moon hidden by a sea of clouds, making it the perfect time for a stealth operation. Z23 saw the patrol ships go past her, waited till they were out of sight and made her move. On her back was an oil drum, one of many that the Commander requested to be placed at various locations across the island.

While she did that, Akashi carried the Commander to the island then left. Using the knowledge gained from the maps of the island, he was able to deduce the location of their headquarters. With that in mind, he slowly crept through the forest, taking care not to make any noise or alert the others.

As he made his way to the target, he could not help but think about how this world operated. First of all, there was a lack of any land animals and an abundance of fish. Both this island and the one he operated from had numerous schools of fish near the coast.

He also noticed the lack of any traps or deterrents in his way. This, in conjunction with that brief fight on the beach told him that the people of this world did not have a mind for tactics. Maybe they knew about where to position themselves during an attack, but other than that: nothing at all.

'But they do have patrols in place,' he thought, as he neared a clearing 'that means they expect an attack from the sea. I guess that's why Hood wanted an otherworlder. The fact that I can attack from a different avenue alone, opens up a new avenue on the battlefield.'

Momentarily thinking about Hood caused him to stop his advance. Tension between him and Z23 were pretty damn high. He was sure that the only reason she was even going with this play was out of duty to her friend. This was all the more reason why his plan needed to succeed. Success here would not only add more to their fleet, it'll provide some distance between him and Z, which hopefully, would give her the time needed to change her opinion of him.

Although the ability to launch an attack on land was indeed an advantage that the Commander brought to the table, it was not actually the reason why he was brought here. In truth, he had another ability, one that neither Hood nor Z23 could have foreseen.

**0000000000000000**

One look at the sky and he could tell thirty minutes passed. By now, Z23 should have placed all the oil cans in their designated locations. Unfortunately, he had no way of contacting her to confirm that. Because the girls of this world were ships, they all came equipped with a communication room. Like how each country on Earth communicated through encrypted channels, the same was evident here. Akashi told him that each faction had an encryption on their communication line and only those of a particular faction could contact each other.

The reason he thought about all this is because he was human, which meant that he had absolutely zero way of contacting them. He tried asking Akashi about building him a kind of communicator, but his lack of knowledge when it came to the working of a com system and Akashi not knowing what a com system meant, pretty much said that he'd have to believe that Z23 had done her job.

'Alright, let's take a look at my equipment,' he thought and took out a sabre, with an ornate handle.

'Yep, that's it,' he thought 'that's the only weapon I've got. Makes sense in some ways though. Why bother making weapons when you can form them just like that? I don't even have any tactical armor.'

This disappointing train of thought came to a halt when he heard an explosion coming from near the beach.

"Thank you Z," he muttered silently before sliding down the hill he was perched on and landing behind their HQ.

**000000000000000000**

It was painfully obvious from the get-go that attacking straightforward would lead to an early demise. Hence, their only option was to go for something subtle. This was why Z23 lugged around twenty or so oil cans, placing them at designated locations around the island.

When she did that, she would start detonating the oil barrels one at a time. This would cause the defending forces to think that they were being attacked by a large force. While they were busy scrambling around to try and figure out what to do, Z23 would harass them from a distance, while the Commander would sneak in and face Hornet. If he could get her to surrender, then victory was theirs.

As Z23 saw girls start coming to the shore, forming their weapons and getting ready for a fight, she thought about the only major flaw in this strategy.

Time.

This strategy makes the enemy think that they are facing a large adversary. But it won't be long before the enemy figures that out. Therefore, it fell on the Commander to defeat hornet as quickly as possible.

"You'd better not die on me," said Z23, forming her guns and firing a few torpedoes at some of the girls.

**0000000000000**

"Cleveland," called out Fletcher as another explosion loomed in the distance "what should we do?"

"Get Portland, Long Island and Phoenix here, now," said the girl in a poncho "from the sound of that explosion, I think the enemy hit one of our supply caches. Have the three of them go and find out how bad the damage is."

At that moment, another girl in an outfit similar to fletcher came to the beach.

"Cleveland," said Aulick, looking very worried "are we being attacked by the sirens?"

"No this isn't them," said Cleveland, petting her little sister's head "they wouldn't try sneaking around like this."

"So then who's attacking us?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Cleveland and that worried her more than anything else.

**000000000000000**

"Is there any chance we can settle this with just talking?" asked the Commander to the other person in the room.

"That's pretty low of you to suggest," said the other person, taking a few steps closer towards him "you attack us under the cover of dark, you go after our resources and then you want to try and settle things peacefully?"

"You're insane if you think I'm going to surrender just like that," said Hornet, forming a runway on her side "I'm the leader of the Eagle Union and I'll never allow some stupid otherworlder to get the better of me."

'Hard way it is then,' thought the Commander.

They were in a large hall with four pairs of pillars running the length of it. There were windows dotted along the sides and a single door to enter from. There was also a dirty cloth over some supplies kept in the corner.

As much as the Commander wanted to attack, years of experience taught him otherwise. It would be easy to assume that a closed place like this would limit the power of an aircraft carrier, but the world he was in did not obey the conventional rules. Logic only worked to a certain extent.

This was made clear when Hornet made small airplanes from beside her and send them at the Commander. The planes were about as small as a drone but were a lot more mobile than any drone he had seen. The Commander quickly ran to the right side and avoided them, but the airplanes continued their pursuit. He stood behind one of the pillars and watched the planes fly past him. He wasted no time, attacking with a thrust which took out two of the planes.

"Don't think I'll just be standing around waiting for you," said Hornet, a mere inch away from him. The Commander noticed it just in time and bent forward, avoiding a kick from her. In doing so, he watched her hit the pillar, knocking a chunk of stone out in the process.

It was at this point in time that the Commander came to a sudden realization. He had assumed that because they looked human, the girls/ships of this world had the same strength as the humans of this world. But everyone knows what happens when you assume something.

He thanked his military training which taught him to react as quickly as possible. If not for that, his head would be a red smear by now.

"Take this," said Hornet, sending out another barrage of airplanes that were too close for the Commander to dodge. Though he was able to knock some of them back, most of the airplanes did hit their target, their sharp blades landing multiple cuts across his arms.

If that wasn't enough, Hornet took advantage of the situation, closing the distance between them and attacked him with a punch right to the gut. The Commander convulsed forward, feeling like he was hit by half a dozen bricks. It was only through sheer force of will he was able to keep from blacking out and see Hornet about to attack again with another kick. He raised both his hands up and blocked her, but given the difference in power, that did little to mitigate the damage. As a result, he was sent flying across the hall and crashing into the corner where the cloth was .

"Get away from there," shouted Hornet.

The Commander slowly rose up and saw Hornet coming towards him so he quickly moved away. What he did not notice was that the object he hit were bluish-colored transparent cubes with a light shining in the centre.

Hornet took a step towards him but then she stopped. From the look of things, she was speaking to someone through their internal communicator.

"Cleveland," she said, "what's wrong?"

"I'm calling to report that we've caught the culprit in charge of attacking our base," said the girl on the other side "turns out it was only one person and the damage we thought was great was minimal at best."

Hornet paused again, the pieces clicking together in her mind.

"What do you want me to do with her?"

"Hold her till I get there," she replied, then turned to him.

"Looks like your plan's failed," she said smiling "what are you going to do now?"

"Go down kicking," he replied throwing his sabre at Hornet, which the girl was easily able to avoid. What she didn't count on was by doing that, she allowed the Commander to close the distance between them and grab her leg before swinging her into one of the nearby pillars.

"God damn, its like lifting a tree," he exclaimed.

Hornet, in response created more airplanes and sent them towards the Commander. The target in question broke into a run, darting across the hall. Hornet took this chance to come up behind him and was about to deliver a swift punch to the face but the Commander bent down at the last second, causing Hornet to get hit by her own airplanes.

The Commander breathed a sigh of relief but that respite did not last for long. Hornet recovered faster than expected and attacked him with another kick, sending him crashing into the wall.

He groaned in pain as he struggled to raise his body back up and fight. Judging from the immense pain he felt in his stomach, that kick must have broken a rib or two at least. To make matters worse, they also have Z23. No telling how much trouble she's in.

'Crap is this really where it ends?' he thought as Hornet drew closer. Rather than give him the chance to run away, Hornet attacked him with airplane after airplane, landing multiple cuts on his body while drawing closer.

'There has to be something,' he thought 'some way I can beat her and save Z23. Think you idiot think.'

"Looks like the legend of the otherworlder isn't all its cracked up to be," said Hornet, standing before him ready to end the fight. Just as she was about to strike him, an arrow made of fire shot past her, embedding itself into the wall.

Surprised and confused by this, both Hornet and the Commander turned to where the arrow came from. They saw a grey haired woman in a white sleeveless top, a black skirt and a white cap, holding a (ridiculous looking) bow in her hands.

"I go away for a few months and look at all the trouble you caused," said the woman, marching towards Hornet and the Commander.

Although the Commander had no idea who this lady was, Hornet's face spoke volumes. A mixture of shock and joy were the emotions she felt as she watched the woman draw closer.

Then, to both their surprise, the woman stopped before the Commander and got down on one knee.

"I heard your voice calling out to me," she said, with a soft expression "when I heard you calling out, I knew I couldn't stay on that side any longer."

"Sorry I took so long to get here but rest assured my Commander: I, Enterprise will not let any harm come to you."

Still confused and baffled at the sudden turn of events, the Commander turned to the woman and said "forget about me, you need to help her."

"Hmm?" asked Enterprise, raising her head.

"If I can get some distance, I'm pretty sure I can last a little longer against Hornet," he said, "but my comrade, her name's Z23 is out there facing God knows how many others. Please, go and save her first and then come and get me."

Enterprise's expression once again grew soft as she said "even with help right in front of you, your first concern is for others. I expect nothing less from my Commander."

"Huh?" he asked.

"Do not worry Commander," said Enterprise, standing up "I wasn't the only one who heard your voice."

At that statement, Hornet slowly turned her attention to the cubes that were in a corner and, much to her horror found that they were no longer present.

"They…. They actually listened to him," said Hornet in shock.

**00000000000000**

"And to think", said a woman dressed in a red and grey outfit, her weapons slowly forming on her sides "this is what's become of the mighty Eagle Union. The same faction that once pushed me and my forces back to our homeland."

"How pitiful," she added then cracked her neck.

"What's going on here?" asked Cleveland, baffled by the sudden turn of events "I thought you were the only one here."

"But I was," said Z23, staring at the woman in red-and-grey "Prinz Eugen."

"To have held your own against so many enemy forces for so long," said a lady in snow-white hair with a dress that matched her hair, standing beside Z23 "you are an admirable girl indeed."

"Illustrious?!" exclaimed Z23

"I-I'm here too," said a meek sound voice next to Z23.

"Unicorn," she said, immediately recognizing the little girl with the telltale stuffed animal firmly held in her hands.

"It seems that we all heard a voice calling out to us," said a blond haired woman dressed in an admiral's uniform, beside her a woman in a maid's uniform with long, flowing white hair.

"I dare say I am interested to meet the one who brought us back," said the woman in the admiral's uniform.

"Who-who are you guys?" shouted Cleveland, completely amiss with what was going on here.

"This lady was a part of royalty a long time ago," said the maid.

"And I," she added, putting her hand on her chest "I'm just a passing maid."


	6. One step forward

'Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, just take a moment and think for a second,' he thought all the while running and dodging his way through the barrage of airplanes that practically filled the hall.

'Akashi said we were the only ones here,' was the first through 'that means Z23, Akashi and I were the only ones from the fleet. But then all of a sudden this lady comes right out of nowhere and to top it off, she says others heard my voice.'

'When did I call out for help?' he thought, ducking under an explosion.

'Alright, alright, when in doubt follow the three golden steps.'

The Commander was referring to a trio of steps that his Commander taught him during his training days in the Navy. Those three steps were applicable to any situation and had often helped him out when he least expected it to.

'Step one: assess the situation.'

'This lady said her name was Enterprise. Based on the information we got before hand, Enterprise was the former leader of the Eagle Union, before Hornet took over. And the only reason for that is because Enterprise died. But she's not dead anymore… she's here, fighting for me.'

'What in God's name is going on here? How is a dead person alive and on my side?'

**000000000000000000**

Although Z23 was equally surprised by the arrival of a few familiar faces, unlike the Commander she had a slightly better idea of how this impossible feat happened.

'Wisdom cubes,' she thought 'He must have found a way to interact with them.'

"I know that our arrival here came a little out of left field," said Illustrious, standing before Z23 "but you do need to get out of the way dear. Find some cover and let us take care of this mess."

"Don't worry big sis," said Unicorn, tossing her namesake doll into the air "we're here to help."

Z23 watched as the Unicorn rose high into the sky, growing ten times larger and forming a pair of aircraft launch pads on its side. As it landed, it attacked its opponents with multiple airplanes, pretty much covering half the island in a cloud of dust.

'This is bad,' said Cleveland, covering her eyes to avoid the dust 'not only do they have those two attacking us from afar…."

At this point she noticed the silhouettes of three people making their way through the cloud of dust. When the cloud faded, Cleveland saw the Prince of Wales, Prinz Eugen and Belfast a few feet from her.

"There's the three of them as well." she said to herself.

As Cleveland leapt back, putting some distance between her and her opponents, she noticed a hail of artillery coming down on their location. The four of them jumped further back, avoiding the barrage then turned in the direction of where the attack came from.

"You guys," said Cleveland in relief, referring to the many girls that were now coming to shore all to help her.

Looking in the same direction, Z23 also noticed the number of girls coming their way. From left to right it was Chicago, Phoenix, Helena, Brooklyn, Tennessee, San Diego, Houston, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

She had every reason to be concerned. Many of them were exemplary members of the Eagle Union, often recognized as the heroes of certain skirmishes. What little advantage they had in the numbers game vanished the moment that artillery strike lit.

And what little advantage her fleet had in terms of raw power also vanished as well.

But what Z23 did not notice was how the expressions on the faces of her new comrades did not change. Although the five of them had no advantage, they all remained calm, not even entertaining the idea that they were going to lose.

**0000000000000000**

Enterprise let loose another barrage of arrows at Hornet, who retaliated by sending out an equally large volley of airplanes then darting to her left. Enterprise quickly closed the distance between them, attacking with a swing of her bow, but Hornet was able to dodge the attack by ducking down.

"You need to come up with some new moves old friend," said Hornet in a mocking tone. As she rose up, she attacked with a rising kick, but Enterprise used her bow to block the attack.

"Why? The ones I have are plenty," she said, followed by her pulling the string back and firing off a point blank barrage of arrows.

Thanks to this, Hornet was sent flying back, crashing into one of the walls before falling down with a thud.

In the midst of this brawl, it would be difficult to locate the whereabouts of the Commander. After all, he was here when the fight started and did not have any opportunity or moment to leave the hall. So the question remained, where was he?

The answer was simple: he was buried under a pile of rocks and only now managed to dig his way through.

'This place looked even worse now than it did a few minutes ago,' he thought, commenting on how the fight progressed during his momentary absence.

"During the Siege of the Crimson Waterfall, I tasked you with looking after the Eagle Union," said Enterprise, walking towards Hornet, who was still lying on the ground.

"You were supposed to carry on the fight in my stead. Show the sirens that the members of the Eagle Union never back down from a fight."

"You should have faced them head on and instead, here you are cowering for your life," she declared.

"At least," said Hornet, standing up "at least I didn't throw my life away like a fool."

Those words clearly surprised the Enterprise, who was taken aback by what was said.

"You think that it's easy? Sending us all to our death? You think that everyone else is ready to go and die just because you say so?"

"After I became the leader, I did everything I could to keep the rest of us safe," said Hornet, standing her ground "the sirens kept attacking us day after day, forcing us to run for our lives. We spent months running."

"Then, finally we found this island. It was so far away from any of the other factions, It wasn't much as the start but it was better than nothing. I thought long and hard about what we were going to do. We were all tired, hungry and badly injured: if anyone attacked us that'd be the end of the Eagle Union, the end for all of us."

"So I decided instead of fighting we would hide. With what we had we'd slowly carve out a place for ourselves here, only attacking some stray ships, making sure to draw little attention to ourselves."

"It was difficult trying to convince everyone else. They all wanted to fight and here I was thinking about our survival," she said, lowering her head "Cleveland was the first to see things my way. She understood what I was thinking and was slowly able to convince everyone else that my way was the right way."

"We're safe here Enterprise. None of the other factions come out this far, much less the sirens. It'll be difficult I know but together we can…."

"The flames of war have once again been ignited," said Enterprise, immediately denying Hornet's request.

"The arrival of the other… I mean the Commander and my return are clear enough signs Hornet," she added "with us here, the tides of war have begun to turn. We are going to strike a blow against the Sirens so great, they will never think of coming here again."

Hornet was silent, her hat covering her face. She remained that way for a while before asking "and how many lives are you ready to sacrifice for that?"

"As many as it takes," was Enterprise's reply.

"Then I cannot let you lead the Eagle Union," said Hornet with a hostile expression "you'll send us all to our deaths if it means we land a scratch on those stupid sirens."

"Hornet think about this. Do you think that living a life in fear of tomorrow is the best thing?"

"It's a whole lot better than dying for nothing," shouted the blond haired girl.

"Then I'm sorry, but you've left me with no choice," said Enterprise, drawing her bow.

"I could say the same thing of you," barked Hornet, reading her airplanes.

The two of them stared each other down like duelists would in a standoff. Every second felt like an eternity as the two former friends were ready to strike each other down.

Then finally, they both attacked each other, letting loose a volley of fire at each other. But just as their projectiles were about to collide in the center of the hall, the third and almost forgotten member of the fight made himself known by cutting up the arrows and airplanes with his sabre.

The girls stood in surprise, watching the dust cloud in the center of the hall slowly settle down. When it did, they saw him standing there.

"Commander," cried out Enterprise "why did you…."

"To keep you from killing a friend," he said, smiling at her "thanks for saving my lazy butt just now, but I think it's time for me to do my part."

He turned to Hornet who was ready to attack. However, to their surprise, they saw the Commander sheathe his weapon and slowly walk towards Hornet.

"What are you doing?" asked Hornet, taking half a step back.

"I never knew how difficult things were for you," said the Commander "Z and I just attacked without getting all the facts and for that I am sorry."

"I don't care," said Hornet, pointing at him, ready to attack.

"You're right about that. You shouldn't have any reason to listen to me but the time for living in the shadows, living in fear of the sirens: that time has come to an end."

"There's no point in saying things like that when you're asking me to send my friends to their doom," she said, determined to resist them.

"What if I told you I'll win this war without sacrificing a single life?" asked the Commander, and both Hornet and Enterprise gasped in shock.

Hornet quickly shook her head saying "you're just saying that because that's the only way I'll agree to help you."

"Not true. There is a way to defeat the sirens without losing anyone."

"And how do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't," he replied and then took out his sabre. Hornet in response, was about to attack, but stopped when he pointed the handle towards her.

"Join me and I'll prove it to you," he said, merely an inch away from her "and if I don't if there comes a point where I casually throw someone's life away like it's nothing, then feel free to take this sabre and run it through my chest."

"Commander," shouted Enterprise, clearly shocked by this declaration, but the person she was addressing did not listen. He was fully focused on Hornet, who hesitantly reached out and took the sabre with one hand.

"You've been fighting for a long time," said the Commander "it must have been difficult carrying that burden on your shoulders for so long."

"But that ends here," he added, gently holding her other hand "I'll take that weight off your shoulders."

All of a sudden, Hornet dropped the sabre and began sobbing out loud before embracing the Commander. As she kept sobbing, Enterprise remembered why she answered in the first place.

He had a desire to protect them, a desire to protect all of them. Although she had her doubts about him, wondering if that desire was just a farce, seeing him able to talk Hornet down and get her to surrender without hurting her, made the former leader of the Eagle Union believe in him.

"Perhaps it is possible," she muttered to herself before marching towards the two.

"You feeling better?" asked the Commander as Hornet slowly moved back. For the moment, she could not speak. She simply nodded to the question.

"You always were an emotional girl weren't you," said Enterprise, standing beside the Commander, getting a good look at her friend.

"Come on," he said, "we should go and see how the others are doing."

Hornet nodded and walked alongside Enterprise, while the Commander opened the door.

There, he saw plenty of unfamiliar faces. Many of them sitting on the sand, a little bruised here and there, but nothing too bad.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Commander," said Illustrious, curtsying to him.

"Wait," said the Commander, pointing to her "were you the one Enterprise talked about?"

"She's not the only one," said Z23, coming towards him "there are a few others."

"Right," said the lady in red and grey, standing alongside everyone else "let's start things off properly."

"I am Prinz Eugen and from today on I'll be a member of your fleet," she said, slightly bowing to him.

"I am Illustrious," said the woman with the white dress, curtseying "happy to be of help Commander."

"I am Prince of Wales, but you can call me Wales," said the woman in an admiral's uniform, with a salute "It is an honor to be of service once again."

"I am Belfast," said the woman dressed as a maid "ready and willing."

"And I am Enterprise," said Enterprise, smiling at the Commander "but you already know that."

"All of you," said the Commander taking a few steps forward "you came to help."

"Something like that" said Belfast.

"Thank you," said the Commander, deeply bowing to all of them "thank you for coming to help and thank you for protecting Z23."

"Hey now," said Illustrious, looking at someone standing perfectly behind her "you shouldn't stand behind me, you should introduce yourself to the Commander."

Curious by what Illustrious said, he tilted his head to see who was hiding behind her and saw a purple haired girl, holding up a stuffed unicorn to cover some of her face.

"M-my name is U-Unicorn," she said, sound a little nervous and meek "Commander…. Can I call you big bro?"

Thus the day ended with the Commander's fleet growing in size and the addition of members from the Eagle Union to their ranks.

Akashi later noted that this was the first and possibly only time in the history of the world where someone had a heart attack from seeing someone so cute.

(AN: yep, I went there with that)


	7. Desire for Power

With a nod to Hornet, she turned the doorknob, opened the door and went inside. The Commander followed after and behind him was Enterprise.

Inside, they saw a frail looking woman sitting upright on the bed. In front of her was a young girl with short white hair, looking like she was ready to fight.

"Calm down," said Hornet, her voice sounding markedly softer, in an effort to reassure her "he… he didn't come to fight."

Before anything else could be said, Enterprise noticed the lady on the bed and exclaimed "Yorktown!"

"Sister?" said the woman in question, noticeably surprised at seeing Enterprise.

"It is good to see you," said Yorktown as Enterprise hugged her tightly. "When you stayed back to protect the others…."

"I was," said Enterprise "but then he brought me back."

"The otherworlder," said Yorktown, turning to him "you have my thanks for bringing my sister back."

"So she's the one you spoke about?" he asked, turning to Hornet.

"Yes. This is Yorktown. She was originally an aircraft carrier but during one of our run ins with the sirens, she was severely injured. Seeing as you technically are my Commander now, I thought it best for you to meet her and decide what to do."

"Decide what exactly?"

At that question, Hornet relented and looked away. She seemed a little nervous and fidgety and looked like she did not want to answer the question.

"And you are?" he asked turning to the girl with short, white hair.

"I'm Juneau and I've been the one taking care of Yorktown while Hornet and everyone else were busy fighting," the girl replied, still keeping her eyes trained on him.

Given what little knowledge he had of this world, the Commander surmised that they were wondering if he was going to send Yorktown into any battles, which given by her current condition was suicidal.

The other option was to bench her, but that too seemed to be a bad idea. He needed to think of a way to make use of her while not actually getting her into any fights.

It was then that he noticed the bookcase to the left, each level filled with a variety of different books. Interested in the literature of this world, he forgot what he had to do and made his way to the newly discovered item.

When he was closer, he took out one of the books and read the title.

"10,000 leagues below the sea?" he read in surprise. "This book is something from my world, how'd it wind up here?"

"We're not exactly sure either," said Hornet. "From time to time, these books just wind up on our beach or in the forest."

"If I were to guess," interjected Yorktown "I'd say that the world you come from and ours are close to one another. Sometimes, the two worlds get close enough for things to pass through."

He was not the least bit knowledgeable in the physics involved in dimensional transferrence and so, decided to take Yorktown's explanation at face value.

He turned back to the books and noticed a number of them on mathematics, physics, chemistry as well as English prose.

"Yorktown," he said, turning to her "how many of these books have you read?"

"All of them," she replied "I do have a lot of free time on my hands, given my situation.

The four ladies in the room watched as the Commander tap his left foot against the ground, seemingly thinking of something.

"Have you thought about becoming a teacher?" he asked

"A teacher?" she asked back.

"Well I noticed a lot of little girls here on this base," he said, then turned to Enterprise and Hornet "I take it that everyone here also goes to a school right?"

"Yes, the girls would normally be preparing for school in another three months or so," said Hornet "but…."

"Then it's settled," said the Commander "I'd like you to become a teacher."

"I can ask Akashi and the others to build a school back at the base or we can use one of the empty rooms we've got. Then you'll be able to teach the kids here and Juneau can be your aide."

The two of them looked at each other, looking genuinely surprised at the statement.

"Would that be ok?" asked Yorktown "for me to be a teacher instead of a soldier?"

"Of course," he replied, making his way to the door "I'm not just looking at this war. I'm also concerned about what comes after."

This was after the Commander recovered from a heart attack caused by seeing Unicorn.

**00000000000000000**

Three weeks had passed since the fight against Hornet and her fleet. A number of members from the Eagle Union now joined the Commander, along with some girls from the Royal Navy.

Akashi had a record of everyone, which she gave to the Commander through the tablet. She also provided him with a communicator (at a very steep price), which allowed the Commander to keep in touch with the rest of the girls.

A sizable fleet gave him the opportunity to send some girls out on routine patrols, improve the conditions around the base and participate in small scale commissions that helped in overall development.

True to his word, he also got a small school up and running, with Yorktown as the teacher and Juneau as her aid. He then informed everyone in the fleet that the youngest members such as Spence, Thatcher, Aulick, Foote, Raleigh, Maury, Unicorn and others would be attending school and not participating in any sorties or missions.

Although this move did decrease the overall effectiveness of his fleet, considering how no one voiced their disapproval on the matter, he considered it a positive.

With regards to the supposedly dead girls that came back, Akashi explained to the Commander that this was the result of an object called 'Wisdom Cubes.' A rare material in this world, said to 'bring back those who were on the other side.'

The Commander surmised that this other side must be what everyone calls the afterlife. Although he accidentally used what wisdom cubes Hornet had to bring in reinforcements, the Commander quietly thought about trying to acquire more of them.

If he could, he could use them to bring back Hood.

With regards to the girls that returned, Illustrious and Wales spent most of their days in the library, reading or having tea together, Eugen enjoyed either lying on the beach or lying in the Commander's office, Enterprise made herself right at home overseeing the small scale missions and Belfast took up the role as the Commander's maid.

(A position that the Commander never even knew existed)

**000000000000000**

The Commander groaned a little and covered his face with a blanket in an effort to hide away from the morning rays of sun penetrating his bedroom.

"Rise and shine master," said Belfast, grabbing the edges of his blanket "it is a new day and you must get ready."

With a quick yank of the blanket, the Commander had nothing to hide him from the morning rays of a new day.

Groaning and growling a little under his breath, he rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple of times before slightly jerking back at seeing Belfast.

"You're…. Belfast," he said, stating the obvious "what are you doing here?"

"I am doing what is required of me as your maid," she replied "and a maid must take care of her master."

"You don't need to do something as troubling as that," he said, rubbing his eyes "I'm former Navy, I can take care of myself thanks."

"As you wish," said Belfast, bowing and motioning towards the chair where his clothes were. He watched as she neared, the pulled out his sabre and held it near her chest.

"WAIT, WAIT what are you doing?" he shouted, scrambling off the bed, no longer sleepy.

"A maid without purpose is a wasteful life," said Belfast, a sad expression on her face "It was an honor to…."

"Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay," he said, beads of sweat trickling down his back "you can be my maid Belfast. Just put the sharp object away please."

In response, Belfast smiled a little at him then chuckled and said "Master, I have learned something important today."

"Which is?" he asked, tilting his head a little.

"You are easy to manipulate," she replied with a cheeky smile and headed out "now come along master, I have your bath drawn and ready."

Of course he didn't exactly listen. He rubbed his forehead with his left hand, all the while thinking 'did a ship/woman/maid from another world pull a fast one on me?"

**(AN: Belfast does NOT play around)**

**00000000000000000**

Much of the Commander's day was spent in his office, behind the desk. He took it upon himself to create a cyclic table, wherein everyone in the fleet had a chance to participate in some small-scale missions, thereby keeping the fleet on the whole busy at any point in time.

While one team dealt with the smaller missions, another team worked on the maintenance of the base and the third team could relax in their dorms. By working in a cycle, each team had a chance to rest, train and work on keeping the base in tip top form.

Aside from this came the issue of food. Many boots on the ground meant many mouths to feed. Luckily for him, an answer presented itself when Hornet volunteered herself and three others to go out fishing every morning. Given that this world has an abundance of marine life, it was a good choice.

Much of his days were spent in the office, signing his approval on some forms or reading reports submitted by some of the girls. The only bit of respite came from when some of the little girls would hide or play around in his room.

This of course got him in trouble once when some Thatcher and Raleigh skipped their classes and stayed in the Commander's office playing, while he worked. The verbal beating Yorktown gave him afterwards was worse than any punishment he received while in the Navy.

**00000000000000000**

One fine day, while the Commander was strolling through the base, he came upon a curious sight. Two curious sights in fact.

Two little girls, one with short white hair and long gold hair, were busy playing with Enterprise. Surprised that there were two additions to the fleet that he did not know about, he made his way to the trio, ready to introduce himself.

"Ah, Commander," said Enterprise, noticing him "I'm glad you're here. I want to introduce Purin and Buri."

"Hi Commander," said Purin, waving to him with an energetic smile "I'm Purin and I can help make your fleet stronger."

"And I'm Purin's little sister Buri," said the girl with white hair "I can also help make the fleet stronger."

"Wow that's pretty impressive," he said, bending down and patting their heads "I didn't think we'd have such knowledgeable little girls joining our fleet. Glad to have you aboard."

"Um, Commander," said Enterprise, looking a little troubled by what he said "I don't think you understand how they can help."

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

**000000000000000000**

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" he shouted after hearing the explanation.

The two of them were no longer outside of the base, they were inside the Commander's office. Enterprise took it upon herself to explain that when the girls get strong enough, a Purin or a Buri appear based on their requirements. Then one of the sisters accompanies the girl to an 'altar' when they're sacrificed, thus making the girl stronger in the process.

"That's insane," he said, falling into his chair "god damn, it's downright barbaric."

"That's how it works in this world Commander," said Enterprise, crossing her arms "it's a cold thing to do, but a necessary one."

"Necessary," he repeated, glaring at her with an intensity she had never seen before.

"Are you telling me it's okay to kill children just so that you can get stronger?"

"That's the purpose. That's the reason they both exist."

"And do you think they're okay with that?" he asked and Enterprise seemed confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you asked them? Has anyone asked them if they're okay being killed off for someone else's benefit."

"Commander, I understand that this can be a little jarring to you, given how things are different in your world. Perhaps in peaceful times, we wouldn't have need for Purin and Buri, but we're at war."

"Our enemy possesses technology greater than our own and numbers vastly superior to us. We need every advantage we can get if we're going to win."

With that said, Enterprise excused herself from the room, leaving the Commander to his thoughts.

That night, rather than sleeping soundly, he thought about what Enterprise said. It's true, that he did not know how this world works. There are many aspects to this world that remain unclear to him and this was one such case. No doubt during the first war, the fleet of the Azur Lane must have done the same thing, sacrificing countless of those little girls in order to become stronger.

Lying in bed, he thought maybe Enterprise was right. Maybe this was the only way to do things.

**000000000000000**

It was a memory from long ago. Before he was the Commander, before he was whisked off to another world, before his discharge. It was when he was still a grunt, getting the life drained out of him by his Commander, the man he looked up to a great deal.

It was the end of a mission and the team was tired. They got back to the ship, bathed, had some well earned grub and went to sleep. Well almost all of them: as he was the only one still sitting in the cafeteria when he was supposed to be asleep.

At this time, his Commander entered the area, surprised to see him here. The man in question was equally surprised to see his Commander here as he was supposed to be on deck with the Master at Arms, going over the plans for the next day.

"I won't tell if you don't," said the older man, referring to the fact that he and his protege were not where they were supposed to be.

The Protege quietly nodded in agreement.

"So kid," said the older man, reaching behind what looked like a wall and pulling out a half full bottle of whiskey "what's got you looking like its the end of the world?"

"From what I heard, the operation was a success. Team got in, did the job, got out, no casualties."

"I saw the target's family," said the Protege and the older man's expression shifted. His slightly jovial exterior faded as he took a seat opposite the youth, then poured himself and the boy a glass.

"When we were heading out, one of the doors were open and I thought we may have woken someone up. I went in to check and I saw them: mother and two girls, all huddled together, looking at me like I'm the god damn grim reaper."

"Commander," he said, his hands shaking in fear "are we the bad guys here?"

The older man downed his shot like a professional would, looked at his protege and said "Damned if I know kid. I stopped asking that question a long time ago."

"But in the time I spent here, I've learned there's a fine line between the only thing and the right thing."

"How do you tell which one's which?"

"That's an easy one," said the old man, beating his chest with his right hand "you listen to your heart. You listen to it good and if your heart is telling you this is wrong, if you're sure there's another way then you take it kid. Because otherwise…. Otherwise you're going to find yourself sitting in a bathroom stall with a gun to your head and no one there to stop you."

The protege did not even want to ask where his Commander got such a dark analogy from. "Even if I did, I'm not someone high up. It's not like I can change things where I am."

"Then climb the ladder. Do your term, rise the ranks and become someone who can make those changes."

**000000000000000000**

Morning arose on a new day.

Enterprise woke up, brushed her teeth, changed into her regular clothes and headed out the door.

Today, she was going to become stronger.

With that in mind, she decided to skip breakfast and head out to the altar. As she walked to the location in question, she couldn't help but think about her conversation with the Commander yesterday and the things he said.

'Is he right?' she thought, walking past everyone else who were going about their daily activities 'Is what we're doing unfair?'

The more she thought about it, the more she kept questioning whether or not it was a good idea. Perhaps there was a way to become strong without this ritual. Maybe no one thought about it because it normal it had become.

But when she reached the steps to the altar and saw Purin standing at the end, Enterprise thought about her last few moments alive.

Surrounded by sirens, she was attacked on all sides. If she were stronger, then she could have overcome them. She could have defeated them all and got back to the others. If she were stronger, she could have done much more.

'The Commander can be as kind as he wants and that's alright. But kindness alone will not win wars. In the end, the only way to avert the disaster from the first war is strength. And I'll do whatever I can to gain that strength.'

She looked at Purin, who asked her "are you ready Enterprise?"

She nodded and with a joyful smile, Puring summoned her drills and created a column of light in-front of them. The two of them would step through it and then Enterprise would come out, stronger than she was before.

However, as the two were about to take a step forward, neither of them heard the sound of his feet banging against the ground.

Before either of them knew it, the Commander leapt over them and before either of them could react, he touched the column of light, vanishing in an instant.


	8. Bad Timing

**An: sorry to everyone for abruptly taking down the chapter. Starburst98 had pointed out some flaws in the story that took me a while to change and edit.**

"Well," said the Commander, looking at the multi-colored, multi-layered space he was floating through "this idea sounded a lot better in my head."

He crossed his arms quietly whistling out national anthem of his country, waiting for something to happen.

That came in the form of a bright light manifesting out of nowhere, blinding him for a moment.

He looked closer and saw four bright lights floating ahead of him.

"Ah," he said tilting his body so he could face the lights "so you're the assholes in charge.'

**00000000000000000000**

"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME," shouted Enterprise, standing stiff, still coming to grips with what just happened.

"Purin," she said, quickly turning to the little girl "start the process again."

Purin nodded and used her drills but this time, no column of light formed. Enterprise looked at her, wordlessly communicating to try and do it again. But as much as the little girl tried to, there was nothing happening.

"Oh they're going to kill me when they find out I lost the Commander," she said, nervously scrambling to her feet.

"Purin, is there no way we can reach the Commander?"

"I'm trying to but for some reason it's not working," said Purin, looking worried "Enterprise, did something happen to the Commander?"

Enterprise paused at the question and did her best to reassure the worried girl "I'm sure he's fine. Whatever's happened, he'll figure it out and come back home. I'm sure of it."

Enterprise thought it best to take a moment and think about what she would do next. Sadly though, that option was taken away from her, when they heard the alarm echoing through the island.

Enterprise immediately turned to the sky, thinking that it was the sirens attacking them but found the only thing in the sky were clouds.

Good news is no sirens. Bad news though is there was someone else attacking. Enterprise and Purin both made a beeline back to the base, intent on finding out who's responsible.

When the pair reached the base, Enterprise had Purin head to the school. She'd be much safer with Yorktown and the kids instead of being on the frontline with the rest of them. With that done, she headed to the headquarters to hopefully find out more.

Once there, she found Cleveland, California and Hornet.

"Cleveland," said Enterprise, marching towards her "what's going on all of a sudden?"

"We're still trying to figure out who's responsible," said Cleveland to Enterprise "I sent Oklahoma and Brooklyn to do some recon but so far they haven't seen anything."

Enterprise looked at the monitor in the control room and noticing the mist that covered the beach "I have a bad feeling about this."

"By the way Enterprise, where's the Commander?"

Before Enterprise could answer, they heard Brooklyn through their communicator

"I see Kako and Urakaze, I think they're the vanguard, should we engage?"

"No," said Enterprise "get out of the fog."

"Get a team ready and have them meet me by the beach. And get the word out that everyone is to stay indoors."

Just then, they heard the sound of an explosion. This was followed by Oklahoma shout into the receiver saying "they've got a hell of a vanguard."

'Of all the possible times for an attack to happen it had to be now,' cursed Enterprise, leaving the room and summoning her bow and heading out 'you picked the worst possible time to do something crazy Commander.' She was followed closely by Cleveland and Hornet, while California stayed back.

When they neared the edge of the beach, Cleveland saw went to the left, while Hornet and Enterprise went to the right.

"Oh no you don't," said Cleveland, shooting at Akatsuki. The so called ninja of the Sakura Empire retaliated by leaping to the side then firing a few shots at Cleveland, which grazed her sides.

Meanwhile Enterprise and Hornet were busy fending off the combined attacks of Shoukaku and Zuikaku, better known as the twin cranes of the Sakura Empire.

Then there was Eugen, Z23, Oklahoma and Brooklyn were slowly being pushed back by Kinu, Arashio, Fusou and Suruga.

"Do not falter in your advance," declared Suruga, the pair of cannons beside her firing off a few shots at the beach "if we leave them alone now, they'll become too great to wipe out later."

"Oh great, Suruga," said Hornet leaping up and attacking Shoukaku. The latter, quickly blew into her flute creating a barrage of airplanes that stopped Hornet's attack cold.

"If she's leading this then we're in real trouble."

**000000000000000**

Meanwhile back at headquarters, California saw the door to opening and quickly formed her weapons. Given that half the fleet were fighting and the other half were hiding, she thought that someone from the Sakura Empire was using this moment to their advantage to strike.

Imagine her surprise seeing the Commander limp inside, clutching his left arm.

"Commander," he said, quickly running towards him and grabbing him before he fell.

"We need to get you to the doctor," she said, lifting him up and carrying him.

"No..." he said followed by a violent cough that brought him down to his knees "I didn't come all this way... just to conk out."

He groaned and struggled to raise his left hand. As he opened it, California saw a strange light form in his blood soaked hand.

"Commander," she asked, pointing to his hand "what is that?"

"The game changer I was looking for," he replied and threw it on the ground. When that happened, a light momentarily filled the room, but then it faded away.

"Commander you have to get to the emergency room."

**0000000000000000000**

"It's not just her you should be worrying about," said another girl, sliding past all of them and attacking Cleveland with a straight fist.

"If you let your guard down, you'll make it easy for me the Great Yukikaze to take you out," said the girl.

As Enterprise fired more and more arrows trying to get Shoukaku, she noticed how one of her arrows managed to down three airplanes instead of one.

"What?"

"What's going on?" asked Cleveland, as a thin veil of light formed around her, Hornet, Eugen and Z23.

"I feel…." said Z, looking at her hands, "a lot stronger all of a sudden."

"I told you not to take your eyes off me," said Yukikaze, firing at Cleveland, but the target easily dodged the barrage.

"Commander," said Enterprise, her voice was notably lower than the others "what did you do?"

"Made a little deal. I'll tell you all about it when you get back," he replied.

Rather than think too much about it, Enterprise put that worry in the back of her mind and focused on taking out one of the cranes.

"My lady," said Akatsuki, appearing next to Zuikaku, who was busy fielding shots from an empowered Enterprise.

"It seems they have suddenly become stronger," said the Ninja.

"But how? Could it be some secret weapon our enemy has developed?"

With her newfound strength, Hornet chased after Shokaku, firing twice as many airplanes as she did before. Although Shokaku was far ahead of her, allowing for ample time to counter, Hornet's advance was a sign that that advantage would not last long.

Finally, they saw a green explosion in the sky. Seeing this, the attackers fired a few shots meant to slow their pursuers down.

"Commander, orders?" asked Enterprise.

"Let them go," he said and the fleet ceased their pursuit.

"Wow," said Hornet, wiping a wave of sweat off her brow "before, we'd have to hide from their patrols and hope they don't notice us. But now…. We didn't just hold our own, we actually pushed them back."

"This calls for a celebration," declared Cleveland "we should celebrate our first victory as a fleet."

"You need to get here quickly," said California to the rest of them.

"What's going on?" asked Enterprise, noticing how concerned and worried California's tone was.

She heard a crashing noise in the background followed by Vestal saying "He's losing blood fast. California, press down right here. Keep pressing while I get the disinfectant and operating tools."

At those words, Enterprise felt a cold sweat trickle down her spine.

"No," she said, her voice on the cusp of breaking.


	9. Reflection

Sitting in a dimly lit corridor, on a faded plastic chair, the vanguard of the Eagle Union, Enterprise rested her head on her fists, all the while trying to stay awake. The moon was high up in the sky, signaling the end of a very hectic and nerve-wracking day.

To start, what should have been a routine custom of growing stronger with the help of Purin, turned sideways when her Commander suddenly intervened and vanished before their very eyes. She had no time to come to grips with what just happened because the Sakura Empire had launched an attack on their shores.

Once that was taken care of, they found out from Brooklyn that the Commander had returned, but was severely injured. By the time she and the others got to the medical ward, Brooklyn had strapped him to the hospital bed, while Vestal was injecting him with who-knows-what at regular intervals.

Seeing as having more people in the room was only going to risk the infection, Vestal ordered everyone else out. This only happened upon the insistence of Cleveland, Enterprise and Z23.

'Ah, that's right,' she thought, gazing at either side of the corridor 'where is Z23?'

Enterprise remembered how Z23 almost collapsed seeing him on the hospital bed and how she refused to leave him, even after he became stabilized. After staying with him for a few hours, Vestal had to send her out of the room. She went up and down the corridor more times than Enterprise could count, before disappearing while deep in thought. It seemed that right now, the girl was either still in the room with him, or outside, collecting her thoughts.

'Honestly,' she thought, tapping her left hand against her thigh 'I wish he'd have just talked things over, instead of just rushing in like that.'

Perhaps, this excursion would serve as a lesson to him and would serve to curb that impetuous nature of his. Enterprise wanted to chastise him after he returned from wherever, but right now, she was only concerned with him waking up.

At that moment, she saw Vestal emerging from the room nearby. The woman took deep breath, wiped the blood off her hands and looked to Enterprise, her expression was more worrying than reassuring.

**000000000000000000**

"We'll need to amputate his arm," said Vestal to Enterprise, inside the room.

"Is surgery the only option?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Vestal replied "but that's not the real problem were dealing with."

"There's more?"

"He's lost a lot of blood. The amount he needs to function is already dangerously low. If we're going to amputate, he's going to lose more blood. For him to survive, we'll have to do a transfusion."

"So go ahead," said Enterprise "if it's blood you need then take mine."

However, Vestal's stern expression made Enterprise realize one major problem. The Commander was an otherworlder. From a biological standpoint, he was a complete unknown and if Vestal was to go ahead with the transfusion, there's no telling the adverse effects the procedure could have on him and the recipient.

"I'm pretty sure that our blood isn't even compatible with his," said Vestal "if we had the time we'd do more tests and find a suitable candidate but….."

"We have no time," said Enterprise, looking like the decision was made "Use my blood for the transfusion."

"Did you not hear any of what I just said?" spat Vestal, her voice only remaining silent because it was so late at night "he could die, you could die, both of you could die; and that's not even considering what mutations could occur."

"There's no point in us standing here and speculating," said another voice. The pair turned to see Z23 in the distance.

"If not Enterprise, then use me," said Z23, marching towards the two of them.

"Why are the two of you so ready to do this, despite the dangers?"

"Because he's my responsibility," she replied, clenching her fists.

"Even if you wanted to, Z23 you are not old enough or have enough blood for the transfusion," said Vestal "unfortunately, only adults have enough blood for the process which is why we need to use Enterprise."

Enterprise could see how angry the young girl was. Although she and the Commander talked a lot, Z23 was with him longer than anyone else.

"I'll make sure he comes back," she said, putting a reassuring hand on Z23's shoulder "just so that we can both knock some sense into him."

**0000000000000000**

It was a week since the operation. The base was working normal as usual, teams were sent out on commissions, some were relaxing in the dorm and others were helping with the supplies. For the most part, the base was working as expected.

However, inside a meeting room, Eugen, Wales, Illustrious, Belfast and Z23 were listening to a report provided by Vestal.

"Both the amputation and the transfusion was a success," said Vestal "although we were very worried about the difference in biology could have caused some dangerous consequences, it was successful…. For the most part."

"'For the most part?'" repeated Illustrious, "did something happen?"

"It was three hours after the operation," said Vestal "once Enterprise's blood started to mix with his system, I noticed his skin tone reducing a few pigments."

"Then for some reason, his hair turned white. Similar to Enterprise," she added.

**0000000000000000**

Unlike the last time when he opened his eyes to an empty room, this instance was different. He saw Z23, seated on a cold metal stool, her head resting an inch away from his stomach.

He reached his hand out to remove some strands of hair from her face, only to be reminded that he had no left arm.

'Ah, that's right," he said, looking at the bandage covering his arm 'well that's what you get for being an idiot.'

He now lifted the sheet on him and was not surprised to see much of his chest wrapped in gauze and bandages. As much as he wanted to continue staring at his injuries and mentally kick himself for his mistakes, he noticed Z23 stirring a little, her expression looking troubled.

'Must be having a bad dream,' he said, using his right hand to stoke her head. As he did, he noticed how she calmed down.

Then, perhaps realizing what had happened, the girl's eyes burst open in shock, looking at him.

"Hey," he said, doing his best to smile and not worry her.

The effort didn't work as Z23 let the floodgates open and quickly fell on him all the while sobbing and shouting the same word over and over again "Idiot."

In light of everything that's happened, he figured this was the least he deserved. He remained silent, letting her pour out all her sadness before she calmed down.

"How many days was I out?" he asked, as she moved away from him.

"Seven days," she replied, rubbing her eyes "the base is still running smoothly so no problems there."

"And no one noticed what happened to me?"

"They did and asked questions. All we said was you were attacked by an SE ambush so you had to undergo an operation."

"What else?"

"The others are meeting in the briefing room. I think Vestal's giving them a run-down of what happened."

"Then I need to go there," he said, raising himself up.

"Are you actively trying to kill the remaining brain cells in your head?" shouted Z23, practically pushing him to the bed "you need to recover."

Usually he'd come up with some crazy excuse about why he had to go meet them, but right now his mind was not in the right place.

"Fine," he said, "then do me a favor and bring them here. No doubt they'd probably want to after hearing I'm awake."

That was something she could agree to, as the girl got out of the hospital bed, wiped any trace of tears away from her eyes and headed out the door.

While she was away, he was left alone with his thoughts. He turned one side and then the next, noticing how empty the hospital was.

"'If the Commander is doing his job then the hospital won't have to do there,'" were one of the many sayings his teacher imparted upon him during his training days.

As he was reflecting on the thought, he saw the door open and saw Z23 first, followed by Belfast, Eugen, Wales, Illustrious, Enterprise and Vestal. He noticed how Enterprise was moving a little slower than usual.

Vestal quickly came forward, examining him to see if anything was wrong.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, moving back.

"No worse than usual," he replied "why? Is there something I don't know about?"

Vestal didn't reply immediately. Wales went out, returning with a mirror and held it up to him. It was only now he noticed how his skin had turned lighter and his hair changed color dramatically.

"Was the shock of losing my arm that bad?" he asked.

"Not exactly," said Eugen "Vestal says that you needed a blood transfusion to survive the surgery and the only one available was Enterprise."

"And is Enterprise okay? There's no telling how our different physiologies will affect her."

"I took the necessary tests with Enterprise," said Vestal "because you're generally weaker than everyone else in this world, there's no chance of your blood affecting her or anyone else."

"But apparently that doesn't work both ways," he said, pulling down a strand of his white hair for him to examine "can you explain how this happened?"

"Unfortunately no," replied Vestal, "right now, I'm just glad you didn't die. I'll have to run a few more tests on you but for the most part, I'd say you're out of any immediate danger."

"Alright then let me have it," he said, looking at the girls.

"Have what?" asked Illustrious "were we supposed to bring you something?"

"No…. aren't you going to announce that I've been put on administrative probation pending an investigation into whether or not I'm capable enough to be the Commander?"

The best way to summarize how out of left field that statement came from Eugen, who remarked "What?"

"I did something stupid, hugely stupid that put the entire fleet in danger," he elaborated "isn't there anything in place when an instance like this happens?"

"You're the first Commander we've ever had in the history of this world," stated Wales "that status gives you a degree of freedom that no one else here has."

"All the more reason why the investigation needs to be held," he countered "over the coming days, you need to observe my interactions and determine whether or not I'm in the right frame of mind and am still capable enough to lead the fleet."

"Also," he added "you need to figure out when the investigation starts and ends and don't ever tell me when you're observing me."

"Alright Commander," said Belfast, putting her hands on her hips "say we find that you're not capable of leading? What do we do then?"

"Enterprise will take over my position," he replied, wasting little time to respond "she's the most familiar one in the fleet, she has a good track record in operations and sorties and can actually have an impact on the battlefield compared to me."

"Ok Commander," said Enterprise, raising her eyebrow and casting a quick glance to Wales.

"If Enterprise is leading," said Wales, "who will be in charge of training the soldiers and devising strategies?"

"Training will be Eugen. She's admittedly tougher than Enterprise, which will take a period of getting used to for the troops."

"For strategies Illustrious and Wales can handle It. I read Z's report on how you effectively used Belfast, Unicorn and Eugen to beat the girls from the Eagle Union without injuring them too much. You two would be ideal in deciding how the fleet will move during operations."

Wales then cast the same glance to Illustrious who asked "and what about reconnaissance?"

"That of course has to be Belfast," he replied "she's the fastest one here, so she'd be perfect in learning about enemy locations and leaving before things get dicey."

"Also, Yorktown and Juneau would still be teaching the kids while Hornet stayed in charge of supplies and the cafeteria," he added

"Well then," said Illustrious, looking at Z23 and the others then turned to the Commander with a smile and said "It looks like you passed the investigation."

"Wait, what?"

"I had a feeling that you wanted to punish yourself for what had happened," said Z23 "so I told everyone to judge your actions when they entered and decide whether you are suitable enough to lead."

"Considering how critical you were towards yourself, it showed that you understood your mistakes and had no intention of making it again," said Illustrious.

"And you had a clear plan of who to lead and how to allocate our forces as best to make up for the gap you created, without disrupting the regular operations," added Eugen.

"Sorry Commander," said Enterprise with a shrug "you're not getting out of this position that easy."

At that statement, he could only chuckle at how they were ready for his actions.

"Well now that you're back, we don't want to keep you from resting Commander," said Wales.

"Can Belfast and Z23 stay back please? I need their help with something," he said.

The pair in question nodded then said goodbye to the rest.

"What's on your mind Commander?" asked Belfast.

"This arm loss is going to affect me, both physically and mentally," he said, with his head lowered "it's safe to say that any form of CQC I've learned has gone right out the door."

"Belfast," he said, looking at her "you're the best in hand to hand combat. Please teach me how to fight to make up for this defect."

"Commander," said Belfast with a troubled expression "even if you want to fight, you can't make up for the vast difference in power between you and us."

"I'll never be strong enough to actually beat anyone," he said in a matter of fact way "but if there's a time when someone attacks me, I can hold my ground long enough for you or anyone else to bail me out."

"And Z," he said, turning to her "I need you to help me with my daily duties as a Commander."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Relax, you don't need to help me bathe or put on my clothes. I'll figure that part out myself," he said to her "jobs from administration to assigning girls for the commissions. Until I've properly overcome this change, I'll need your help with this."

"Commander a quick question if I may," said Belfast, raising her hand

"Go ahead."

"Why us?"

"Well Z23's been with me since I first came here. She knows me better than everyone else. And Belfast, you're our best close combat fighter."

"Ah, so it's like that," said Belfast, looking a little annoyed.

"Huh?"

"Nothing Commander," she said, pouting a little "Nothing. At. All."

"I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that," he said "if you don't like it then feel free to tell me."

At that statement, Belfast's expression changed to a smile as she said "relax Commander. I'm just playing with you. Of course, I'd be happy to help."

"Thanks, I owe you two a lot," he said, lowering his head in an effort to make it look like he was bowing.


	10. Two kinds of Blossoms

It wasn't long before the team made the announcement to the rest of the fleet. Due to injuries sustained, the Commander's left arm had to be surgically removed. This was the best move as to explain what happened to the Commander in between the attack was one that nobody wanted to speak about. In fact, the man in question itself could not properly recall the events that transpired during his excursion. Whether it was one he experienced mentally or physically was unclear and perhaps it was better that way. Everyone needed to move on and not dwell on the past too long.

As for the change in look, that didn't require skewering the facts all that much. He required blood to survive the operation and Enterprise volunteered. This, coupled by his other-worlder physiology led to the change in his appearance.

Not long afterwards, the Commander made an announcement to everyone in the fleet, assuring them that nothing has changed. The day-to-day operations that everyone was used to would continue unabated. As for the overarching goal of defeating the sirens, that was the endgame and in time, he would decide on how to take a step forward to achieve that goal.

That was two weeks ago.

**000000000000000**

The scene was a familiar one, the setting was night and there was no one else around except for the two of them. She was dreesed in a formal white dress, which was only reserved for winter occasions. There was nothing wrong with wearing something out of season and he didn't mind it at all. In fact, when he first saw her, he made it clear that she looked absolutely enchanting in what she wore.

"Here's to us," said the Commander, dressed in his new uniform as the two of them clinked glasses and took a small sip of the contents.

"Yes," said Enterprise, smiling lovingly at him "I'm glad we're taking some time off to do this."

"Well it's like you said Enterprise: sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and admire what's in front of you."

"So here I am," he said smiling warmly at her "admiring what's in front of me."

"Oh Commander," she said, turning away immediately as the blood rushed to her face "you can't say something like that."

"Why not?" he asked, getting up from his seat and kneeling next to her "everyone else is asleep. You and I are the only people here."

"Yes," she said, looking at him, all the while still red in the face.

"And you don't need to call me Commander when we're alone," he said, moving dangerously close to her.

"When it's just the two of us," he said, his breath on her neck "you can call me….."

**0000000000000000**

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH," shouted Enterprise, shooting out of bed, panting hard.

'Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what the hell just happened?' she thought then instinctually touched her neck. It was only now she realized that what just happened was a dream.

"That was a dream right?" she muttered to herself, wiping the sweat from her head and face "but…. Why am I dreaming about him?"

**000000000000000**

To call what happened each morning a training session would be putting it kindly. It mostly consisted of the Commander trying his hardest to land a strike on Belfast, with his sabre, while the latter regularly knocked his ass on the ground.

"Get up Commander," she said, standing on one leg "you won't be beating any sirens on your back like that."

At that provocation, he quickly shot to his feet and went on the offensive against her.

'As much as I tried to provoke or goad him,' she thought, dodging the flurry of swings and thrusts that came her way 'he didn't respond to any of them. His mind is still sharp and focused, not clouded by any emotions.'

'His mind is still sharp, able to react to my attacks and predict when I'm going to strike,' she thought taking a step back then quickly charging forward so that she was only a hair's breadth away from him.

The Commander was quick on his feet as he also jumped back and pointed his sword at her, before she could take advantage of the opening.

'The problem comes from his muscle memory,' she thought and just as she expected, he tried to attack her with his left arm, only realizing he didn't have one, but it provided Belfast the time she needed to perform a leg sweep, sending him to the ground once again.

"Commander you really need to work on that muscle memory of yours," she said, reaching out to grab him, but he declined. Instead he flipped himself up and kicked his sabre up instead of bending down to retrieve it.

"That's easier said than done Belfast," he said, sheathing the weapon "that's something that's practically been ingrained into your body for a long time. To overwrite that is not something you can do in a month or two."

"Hmm then we need to start thinking of other avenues like meditation," she thought, rubbing her chin "I might not always be there to pick you up Commander."

Belfast was deep in thought, trying to figure out how best to help the Commander. She was so deep in thought, she failed to notice the protruding root behind her as she took a step back. This caused her to tumble back and if not for the timely reaction of the Commander, she would have also hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his one good hand stretched out, holding hers while she was stunned at what happened.

He pulled her back to a vertical base. He looked like he was about to say something, but Belfast quickly threw a towel in his face.

"You'd better get ready," she said, hiding the hint of red forming on her cheeks "the day's starting and we can't have you late. It sets a bad precedent."

At this, the Commander could only nod in silence and wipe the sweat off his face and chest.

When the pair got back to HQ, he got out of his training clothes and into the bath. Although he had a little trouble getting the soap in certain places his hands couldn't reach, it wasn't something that debilitating.

The real problem came afterwards.

Tasks such as tying your shoes, putting on your pant and loopin the belt through the holes became an increasingly difficult task in his current state. As much as Z23 initially kept forcing him to agree to let her help, the Commander was adamant in the belief that this was something he had to do on his own.

He looked at himself in the mirror and remarked "did it without falling down once or swearing. Always a good day when that happens."

With that, he left the room.

The change in appearance the Commander underwent was not simply limited to the way he looked. Now that his regular uniform was torn up, bloodied and could only be used as rags, he had to have a new uniform.

This came in the form of a black Commander's uniform with thin white lines along the edges. Although it didn't look remarkably different from his regular uniform and was only an inversion of the former, he still felt it was a big change from what he was used to.

He reached out and grabbed the cape that rested on the chair and with a quick flourish, he attached it to his uniform.

"All set," he said, looking at his reflection in the mirror then left. Outside, he was greeted (more like reprimanded) by Z23, for taking so long to get ready.

Initially, many of the fleet members thought that this change in look and attire was a sign that the Commander was perhaps undergoing a change in personality. They thought that from now on, he'd start having them go on riskier missions and pick fights with factions they were nowhere near ready to face.

In fact, many were initially wary of him, fearing this personality change might bring about a more darker and harsher outlook on life.

The only people on the fleet that didn't make a big deal about the Commander's change in look was Yorktown and the school of children she taught. Just like how they did before, some of the kids would come to the Commander's room and either play with the toys they brought, scribble in their coloring books or sleep on the sofa that was there.

As for Yorktown, she simply said "he's still the same person as before," when others voiced their concern to her.

**000000000000000000**

"Any adverse reactions?" asked Vestal, poking and prodding Enterprise with her index fingers.

"Yeah," she said, "I mean you initially dismissed the whole idea of anything happening to me because the Commander's generally weaker than us….. But what if the effects happen over time and not immediately?"

"There'd still be markers for something like that," replied Vestal "is that why you came here? Did something happen?"

"Uh…" said Enterprise, remiss to recall the steamy dream she had last night "I am feeling a little weaker than normal."

"Well it normally takes a day for a person to recover from giving blood," said Vestal, tapping her pen against the table "but given the circumstances, maybe its a little longer in this case. I'd recommend resting in your room for the day. The Commander hasn't put you on any sorties right?'

"No."

"Good. Then take this chance to rest and relax."

**000000000000000000**

'Vestal was right about needing to rest,' thought Enterprise, standing outside a door

'But how the heck did I wind up here?' she thought, referring to her standing outside the Commander's office.

'Vestal said to relax somewhere I'm comfortable with,' she thought, ignoring the fact that only half that statement was true.

'So why here?' she thought 'I mean the Commander's easy to get along with and has a good relationship with everyone…'

Her thoughts came to a halt when she heard some kids laughing and giggling from the other side. Curious, she opened the door and found the Commander sitting infront of a small plastic table, with his guests Aulick, Thatcher and Fletcher.

"Commander," declared Fletcher "today Thatcher is the Dutchess of Tea, Aulick is the Lady of Pudding and I am the Duchy of Mint."

"So what am I?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"The butler," replied the three of them at the same time.

"Excuse me," said Enterprise, now fully entering the room "what's going on?"

"Hey Enterprise," he said, standing up to greet her "I'm just playing with the kids. Wanna join us?"

"Commander, this is the third game the four of you have played," interjected Z23, holding a notebook in one hand, a pen in the other and wore a pair of curved rectangular specs "you have to take them back to class now."

"EH? Boo I wanna play more," stated Thatcher.

"But the classes are boring," said Aulick

"Can't we play a little longer?" asked Fletcher

"Yeah can't we?" asked the Commander.

"Oh I'm fine with you guys playing as much as you like," said Z23, with a shrug, causing the four of them to sigh in relief "but you don't wanna get Yorktown mad do you?"

At that statement, the four children (yes, him too) froze in fear, the color draining from their faces. The party were no doubt recalling the last time Yorktown lectured them for playing too long.

"Crap look at the time," shouted the Commander "we have to get going."

The three others nodded to him and without another word they darted out of the room.

"Umm…." said Enterprise, baffled at the turn of events.

"He likes to play with the kids," said Z23, "its the only thing he does here aside from going over reports, approving commissions and checking the inventory. It's pretty boring stuff so I agree to let him have some fun, but he often has too much fun."

"Sorry Enterprise, did you want to ask him something?"

"Ah, no nothing like that," said Enterprise "hey, would you mind if I rested here for a little?"

"Is something wrong with your bed?" asked Z23, sounding concerned "we could have an order made for a replacement."

"No, it's just….. My place smells a little weird," she said, lying a little "I've opened up the windows so it shouldn't be there for too long, but for now, I'd like to rest here."

As much as Z23 wanted to state how there was a perfectly good lounge room that was recently renovated with a new theme, Z23 thought it best not to point it out. For whatever reason, Enterprise felt relaxed here and as long as she wasn't impeding any work, she was welcome to relax here.

"Alright go ahead," she said, walking towards the door.

Enterprise watched Z23 leave then sat on the sofa. It wasn't as comfortable as the bed she was used to, but the atmosphere of the room put her mind at ease.

"Maybe just for a few minutes," she said, lowering her head and closing her eyes.

**0000000000000000**

After an unspecified amount of time had passed, Enterprise woke up. She let out a long yawn, blinked a couple of times and stretched her arms and legs a little.

As she did, she noticed the black cape resting on her, the same one that the Commander wore.

She noticed this and looked at both the desk and door to make sure no one was there or that no one was about to come in.

Sure she was alone, Enterprise put the cape on her and smiled to herself at how well it fit and how much it smelt like him.

She was swaying side to side across the room, but soon came to a halt. This was because she noticed what was going on outside the window and knew what would happen next. Enterprise darted out the room, bounded down the hallways and leapt down the steps before leaving the building.

Outside, she noticed that Z23, Belfast, Illustrious, Oklahoma, Nevada, Hornet and the Commander were all staring at the spectacle above.

"Is this natural?" asked the Commander, reaching out and watching as a sakura petal rested onto his hand "do petals like this usually just start falling out of nowhere?"

"This isn't natural at all," said Enterprise, marching ahead and standing in-front of him "this is her doing."

As if on queue, the group saw a pair of shadowy figures land on the grounds, a good distance from them. Considering that it was night, there was low visibility, making it difficult to make them out. While the others could hazard a guess as to who the two figures were, the Commander could only grasp at straws.

The figures looked human that was for sure. But then he noticed the two protrusions emerging from the top of their heads and behind them were two shapes too difficult to discern in the dark.

As the pair drew closer, the light from the headquarters revealed their forms.

"Akagi," said Enterprise, getting her bow ready.

"Hello Enterprise," said the woman in light brown hair "nice to see you after so long."

"You know for someone who's dead, you don't look that bad," said the white-haired girl beside Akagi.

"Kaga," said Eugen, taking a step forward "still taking your bead from Akagi."

Kaga narrowed her gaze at that comment, looking like she was about to strike. Akagi extended her left hand out and said "Kaga, stop. We didn't come here to fight. Just the opposite in fact."

"Well that's new," said Enterprise "it's not often the two of you are seen without your entourage."

"And before they realize we've been missing," said Akagi, striding past Enterprise "I'd better deliver my message."

'You," she said, looking at the Commander "I heard a lot of good things about you, otherworlder. Unfortunately you're not as grand as the stories make you out to be."

He immediately noticed how Hornet and Belfast looked like they were about to attack and quickly reacted.

"Yeah, can't help it," he said, smiling a little "Haven't been training as much as I should and the food here is way better than anything I had back home."

"Comedy," said Akagi, looking down on him "the last weapon of a cornered animal."

"I'll make this brief, otherworlder. Submit to me, and I'll let this merry little group you've got continue without any trouble."

The group looked like they were ready to attack but the Commander quickly raised his hand up and stopped them.

"That's a pretty bold statement to make," he said, smiling. This time though, it did little to hide the anger in his voice "what happens if I say no?"

"Then you'll learn what so many others have learned," Akagi replied, showing an equal degree of animosity towards him "a painful death awaits any who dare stand against the Sakura Empire."

Akagi looked at the others behind the Commander and said "I came here expecting to see warriors and soldiers and the only thing I see is… disappointment."

"Come Kaga," she said, turning around and walking away "I'll give you three days to decide and give me your answer."

The group watched both Akagi and Kaga head back into the shadows and vanish out of view. As that happened, they noticed how the falling sakura petals had stopped.

"Well this was a fun turn of events," said the Commander, looking in the direction the pair came from "now time for a response."

"Commander," said Illustrious, turning to him "just to be clear…. You're not going to surrender are you?"

"Nope," he replied, a hint of arrogance in his voice "I know what we're going to do."

With that said, he went back into headquarters, no doubt to come up with an appropriate response. It seemed that before he contended with the sirens, he would first have to deal with the overarching problem of the Sakura Empire, who have made their intentions clear.

"By the way," said Belfast, looking at Enterprise up and down "what are you doing wearing the Commander's cape?"

All Enterprise could do was look away and pretend she didn't hear the question.


	11. Reply

(AN: before the chapter starts, I'd like to thank everyone who favorited and followed this FF. Thank you to the community for appreciating this story.)

From the perfect poise exhibited in the way she sat, to her flawless complexion, she was the sort of person you'd call yourself lucky just to be friends with.

If there was a word to describe the woman seated in the centre of her room, reading through a book without a care in the world, it would be beautiful.

At least, that's what the little girls felt watching the perfect figure of a person going through her daily routine.

Then, as if sensing her presence like always, the woman's fox ears perked up and she turned in the direction of the pair.

"You two," she said, with a smile that'd make a heart stop "why are you hiding over there girls? Come play with your sister."

"Amagi," they both cried out, running into the arms of her elder sister and falling into her lap. This was a regular day for the pair. Amagi started her day off going over what needed to be done, who to send out for commissions. As she did that, Kaga and Akagi would watch in silence, admiring their sister.

Then, like always the little foxes ran up to their sister and play with her. This was how the three of them started their days and it remained that way for a long, long time.

"Mmmm, soft," said Akagi, rubbing her face up against one of the many tails of her sister "I wonder when I'll get a tail as soft as yours."

"That'll be a while my dear," said Amagi, giggling at Kaga rolling across the long and bushy tails of her elder sister.

"Amagi, Amagi," said Akagi, her small tails swaying in unison, her eyes glittering brightly at her elder sister.

"I know dear," said Amagi, standing up and walking towards the bookcase. From the way she wore her kimono, it almost looked like she was gliding across the floor. At least, that was how the pair of them saw it.

As Amagi found the right book, she turned and headed back to her sister, only to stumble a little, holding her hand up to cover her cough.

"Amagi," shouted the little girl, racing up to her "are you okay?"

"Sorry my dear," she said, stroking the little girl's head "it was just a little cough. Nothing to worry about."

"If you say so," said Akagi, still unsure of whether or not to believe her sister.

"Today, we're reading 'The Fox and the Cherry Blossom," said Amagi, taking her place, with Akagi sitting on her lap and Kaga sitting on the other lap.

Amagi playfully cleared her throat as a way to say she was starting her story.

"Once there was a fox," said Amagi, looking at the illustration of a nine-tailed purple colored fox

"Hey, that fox looks just like us," said Kaga, pointing to the animal in question.

"The fox lived in a huge forest and played around with many animals. It loved to play games with the other animals and often played tricks on them."

She smiled as the two sisters giggled, no doubt imagining what tricks the fox came up with.

"In that forest, there was a big and beautiful cherry blossom tree. It was taller than all the other trees and everyone in the forest loved how beautiful it was. Because that tree was the oldest, everyone in the forest respected it and never troubled it."

"But one day though, the fox decided to play a trick on the tree. Everyone told it not to but the fox didn't listen. After it played the trick, the tree got really mad at the fox."

"Everyone else in the forest left me alone yet you disturbed me," shouted the old tree "for that, you should be punished."

From that day, the old tree would shake its big body and cause many petals to fall down. The tree told the fox that if it caught just one petal, the tree would forgive him. The fox tried as hard as it could, but everytime it got close to one petal, it saw a shinier one and went after that."

"Aww, poor fox," said Kaga, then turned to Amagi "sister, is that how the story ends?"

"No my dear, all stories have a happy ending," she said, in a reassuring tone.

"I wanna know, I wanna know," pleaded the two fox girls.

Just as she was to continue with the story, they heard the shutters to her room open and through it came five familiar faces.

One was the Lion of the North, Bismarck; leader of the Iron Blood and quite possibly the strongest of her generation. Then there was Atago, the stalwart shield of the Sakura Empire. She might move slowly on the battlefield but if she were to catch an enemy in her sights, not even divine intervention could save them.

Then there was Jean Bart, the noble knight of the group. She always spoke about truth, justice and behaved like a valiant knight. She was the sort of person that'd have your back through thick and thin. After that was Avrora, the high-speed fighter of the group. Sure, she looked as light as a feather, but in the time it takes someone to clench their fist, she'd have hit them at least five times.

The newest member of the group was Hood. Unlike the others who were all distinguished soldiers with their achievements large enough to write books about, Hood was a very different from them. She was most famous for the 'Rescue at the Crimson Waterfall.' When the Siren forces had pinned down a large group of fighters from the Royal Navy, at a time where it seemed impossible to save them, Hood went in on her own and saved the group, while keeping the Siren forces from advancing.

"Amagi," said Jean Bart.

"So that time has finally arrived," said Amagi, closing the book and gently taking her little sisters off her lap.

"Yes," said Bismarck "we have their location. Now is the time for us to finish the Sirens once and for all."

"Sister," said Akagi, tugging on the sleeve of Amagi "can we come help you?"

"No my dear," said Amagi "you just stay here and before you know it, I'll be back."

"You promise?" asked Kaga, looking as worried as Akagi was.

Seeing this, Amagi bent down, putting her hands on their heads and with a warm smile she said "of course girls. I'll always be there for you."

**000000000000000000**

It was years since she had a dream like that, the last time she saw her beloved elder sister. That was before the heroic forces of Azur Lane defeated the sirens and brought peace to the world.

Akagi awoke to a dark room with only thin rays of light penetrating through. She rubbed her head, rose up from the bed and made her way to the windows. Here, she moved away the thick curtains, allowing her room to be illuminated by the light of day.

"Good morning sister," came a voice from behind.

She turned around and said "Kaga, I didn't hear you come in."

Her sister, still bowing said "I apologize for interrupting you. If you like I'd…"

"No, its all right," she said "what do we have to do today?"

"You have a meeting with the resource department and then you'll be overseeing Yukikaze unveiling her latest work of art. There'll also be a number of reports for you to fill and after that we'll have our answer from the Coalition."

'That's right,' she thought 'that otherworlder has already caused me enough trouble.'

'I can't have him ruining my plans, not when I'm this close.'

"Alright Kaga, wait outside for me and I'll get ready," said Akagi and Kaga nodded.

In the wake of Amagi's death at the final battle, the Sakura Empire went for months without a leader. During that time, smaller factions started rising up and asserting their claim. This led to the SE nearly splitting up into smaller groups were it not for the timely intervention of Akagi.

Although she did not have as much battle experience as her two siblings did, her deft manner of handling the day-to-day operations of the Sakura Empire and her ability to pacify the factions before they did anything too dangerous, helped her become the unquestionable leader of the Sakura Empire.

As time went on, she distinguished herself on the battlefield, earning numerous victories and achievements through her career, but never once let her administrative skills weaken.

This was why, the Sakura Empire had grown into the largest faction in the world. In fact, many believe that if it weren't for the war going on right now, the Sakura Empire would have absorbed all the other factions with little resistance.

Her day wasn't all that different from most other days. She bathed, cleaned, dressed up and went to her office, where she had breakfast and went over the reports submitted yesterday. After that, she went through the island, greeting some of the many soldiers that made up the Sakura Empire.

When it came to lunch, Akagi retreated to her room, preferring to eat alone. Originally, she used to eat in the cafeteria with everyone else, but lately, she changed her location. Kaga worried about this and tried to ask her what caused this change, but her sister would simply brush it off, saying it was nothing.

In the silence of her room, where no one would bother her, Akagi reached into her drawer and removed the false bottom to reveal a small black wisdom cube.

She took the object out of the drawer, placed it on the ground and stepped back as it projected an image of a black-clothed woman with yellow colored eyes.

"Greetings Akagi," said Overseer Alpha of the Sirens "you took your time to call. I was wondering if you forgot about our daily meetings."

"No," she said, quickly getting on one knee and lowering her head "I just… had more work to do than I first thought."

"Hmmm alright, I'll let it slide," said the Siren "so tell me, how have things been progressing?"

"Our forces are getting stronger with each day. And we've already taken steps against the otherworlder."

"That otherworlder's a dangerous element," said Overseer, stroking her chin "he's an unknown quantity in the war. If we leave him alone now, he's sure to make us regret it."

"I want him and his rebellion dealt with swiftly and decisively Akagi," she added, her hologram floating towards her.

"You wouldn't want me to change my mind, not after coming so far."

"You have nothing to fear Overseer," said Akagi "the Otherworlder is no threat and by today, he'll never cause trouble for us again."

Overseer let out a light chuckle at those words as her hologram moved back.

"See that you do, Akagi."

In the human world, there's a famous saying "Don't make deals with the devil."

This saying stems from a man making a deal with a devil for a life filled with riches, in exchange for selling his soul. Throughout the years, the creature the man made a deal with changed from the Devil, to the crossroads demon, to Mephisto and even Crowley. The identity of the demon itself did not matter.

The long and short of the story was that the man enjoyed a long and happy life. Nearing the end of his life he tried to trick the devil, but failed and suffered for an eternity. That's the problem with making deals with the devil, coz the devil always comes to collect.

Such was the case for Akagi.

It was during the time when the second war with the Sirens started. The threat of the aliens was further exacerbated by the smaller factions in the SE, threatening to quit and making the faction on the whole, easy to conquer.

Fearing that would happen, Akagi contacted Overseer Alpha, one of the three leaders of the Siren forces. Here, she made the deal, promising she would eliminate the other factions if the Sirens were to leave the SE alone.

Seeing as it meant little effort on their part, Overseer Alpha agreed and the Sakura Empire enjoyed a period of prosperity, while the rest of the world was at war. Although members of the Sakura Empire did face Siren forces from time to time, it was relatively small scale compared to everyone else. It was an added bonus that the other, smaller factions were able to put their differences aside and rejoin the SE.

Then came the problem, the otherworlder.

Based on what information Akagi gleaned from Alpha's off-hand comments, in the time it took the Sirens to eliminate Hood till now, the otherworlder was able to unite the Eagle Union. If that weren't enough, the forces of the EU that scattered all came back after hearing what happened.

Although she did her best to hide it, the sight of Enterprise and other aces surrounding the otherworlder, ready to fight her was a dangerous sign. He could not be allowed to continue. The Sakura Empire was the last piece of her sister's legacy and she would protect it, no matter the cost.

Akagi now heard alarms blaring in her room and outside.

'An attack?' he thought, scrambling to her feet 'no, don't tell me.'

Akagi raced out her room, darting straight to her headquarters. There, she saw Kaga and the others looking at a large monitor.

"We picked this up from our long-range scanners," said Kaga.

Looking at the number of forces on screen, it seemed like the otherworlder had given her his answer.

"I offered him peace and he spat in my face," said Akagi, clenching her fist. "No matter."

"Say the word my lady," said Kinu "our forces are awaiting your orders."

"Crush them," she said, still looking at the monitor. With that, the aces of her fleet all left the room, ready to carry out their leader's orders.

"it's time you learned otherworlder," said Akagi, marching to the door "how dangerous we are."


	12. Clash

(AN: In this chapter, there'll be some text in bold. It's the Commander outlining the plan to them during the meeting and how events are going exactly how he predicted.)

3 days ago

The time, night. The location, outside the headquarters. The situation: dealing with an open declaration of war from the enemy.

"Before we mount an offensive," he said to the group standing outside the headquarters "I need to know what we're dealing with."

"Get me all the information we have on the Sakura Empire. I want their fleet strength, a list of their aces and everything on Akagi."

2 days ago

The Commander sat in the meeting room, arriving ten minutes before the stipulated time. It was his habit to always arrive ten minutes earlier.

Much to his surprise, he saw Enterprise also entering the room, carrying a few folders in her hand. From the looks of things, she didn't expect to see him here, which explained why she looked a little startled when she turned and saw him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, after calming down a little.

"I always come here a little early," he replied "gives me time to think. Why are you here?"

"Same reason you are," she replied. Enterprise then strode forward and placed the folders on the table before him.

"This is what I know about some of the aces," she said "the others are providing all the relevant information they have."

The Commander said nothing. He quietly nodded to her, then stared at the folders, all the while strumming his fingers on the desk.

Not long after that, Eugen, Illustrious, Belfast, Z23, Wales, Cleveland, Hornet and Yorktown came into the room. Some of them had one folder and some had two. Just like Enterprise, they all placed their folders on the table and took their seats.

Taking the initiative, Enterprise stood up and cleared her throat before speaking.

"From left to right," she said "the folders have information on Kinu, Akatsuki, Soryuu, Hiryuu, Yukikaze, Takao, Suruga, Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Kaga and Akagi."

"Damn," he muttered under his breath "they have more aces than us."

The explanation that followed was as detailed as could be. The Commander was made aware about the origins of the Sakura Empire, the founder, Amagi and how she was a member of the Azur Lane, the state of the SE after the first war, Akagi's reign and the growth of the Sakura Empire under her leadership.

There was also information about the numerous times the EU clashed with the Sakura Empire. This was followed by all the relevant information the team had on the aces. When the explanation was done, Eugen (who provided the closing remarks) sat down.

Now everyone turned to the Commander and waited for his response. Many of them noticed that from the start, the Commander's expression and mood was serious, bordering on tense. To nearly everyone in the room who had seen him playing with kids, talking and chatting with others, this was a complete turn around, personality wise.

The only person who was not surprised by the change was Z23, who recalled he behaved the same way during their first briefing.

"Cleveland," he said, finally breaking the silence, causing the girl in question to shoot to her feet.

"Yes sir," she said, nearly shouting.

"I saw the report you gave me on San Diego," he said, turning to her "bring her into this as well. This will be a big operation and I need our heavy hitters assembled."

"Does that mean," said Hornet, "are you going to have Yorktown participate as well?"

At that question, the others remained silent. Yorktown's health was a complicated state. Sure she could sortie like the others and was equal to Hornet and Enterprise in regards to overall power, but prolonged fighting would hurt her already frail body.

However, the problem right now was that they were dealing with a very dangerous opponent. Everyone in the room knew that the Sakura Empire's aces alone were more than what they had. If it came down to a straight up fight, the Commander would have to throw all the bodies he had, if he hoped to win.

"No," he replied, to the relief of many "Yorktown will not be participating in this mission. But, for the duration of this operation she'll be in charge of the base."

"Juneau and Unicorn will assist you along with Saratoga, Lexington and Indianapolis," he said, turning to her "along with keepings the kids safe, I need you to make sure the base is safe at all times."

"Yes sir," said Yorktown.

"Now," he said, standing up "here's how we're going to win."

1 day ago

"And with that, our work for the day is done," said Oklahoma, putting her reports neatly into a folder "ah, finally, I can get a little rest now."

"No time for rest," declared her comrade Nevada, "we still have time to train before dinner time."

"But I wanna rest," whined Oklahoma swaying back and forth in a lazy manner.

"You can go ahead and rest," said a voice from the door behind them "but after we've finished our discussion."

"Ack Commander," yelped Oklahoma, nearly jumping out of her skin "wh-wh-what are you doing here?"

"It's not often we see you in the Commissions wing Commander," added Nevada.

"Yeah sorry about that," he said rubbing the back of his head apologetically "turns out, signing papers and approving rewards is not as easy as I thought."

"I came here because I'll be needing your help in the upcoming operation."

"How can we help Commander?" asked Nevada "just say the word and Oklahoma and I'll get it done quick."

"Thanks for the enthusiasm," he said, taking out a single sheet of paper "I need you to find the others in this list. You'll all be part of a team that'll be participating in the attack against the SE."

Nevada and Oklahoma took a look at the names on the list and their stomachs collectively became heavier.

In a world where ships are women, how do you know which one's stronger than the other? By finding out how much information there is about them. For example, women like Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown and Z23 have participated in a number of battles, operations and sorties and so, there was a lot of information about them.

On the other side, Oklahoma, Nevada and the other names on the list like Ranger, Langley, Pensacola, Omaha, Raleigh, Cassin and Downes participated in less missions so, it stood to reason that there'd be little information about them.

So, when the Commander of the fleet hands you a list of nobodies, it can only mean one thing: he's setting you up as cannon fodder.

At least, that's what the two girls were thinking as they looked at the sheet of paper he gave them.

"Commander," said Oklahoma, lowering her head "are you… are you sending us out to ….. To die?"

"What? No. NO, I would never do that," he replied almost instantly.

"Commander, you don't have to mince words with us," said Nevada, in an understanding voice "we know our position on the pecking order here and it's the same with the other girls here."

"Like I said, I'm not sending you out on a suicide mission."

"Stop lying to us," said Oklahoma, her voice trembling.

"The truth of the matter is, you'll have a very important role in the operation. In fact, the outcome of this fight will depend on the abilities of all the girls here on this list."

Try as they might, the girls could not understand how their presence could change the outcome of the fight.

"But why us though?" asked Nevada.

"When Akagi came here, she noted that the only thing she saw were disappointments," said the Commander "that's not what I see. Every single one of you has a part to play in this fleet and if she doesn't see that then you guys will show it to her."

"Don't worry though, I"m not going to keep you guessing," he added "here's how things are going down."

Day of the operation

"And we're taking the fight to them?" asked Hornet "isn't that a little crazy? They have us outnumbered here and attacking them on their own home turf doesn't sound like a good idea."

"They'd never suspect us to try an out-right attack like this," said the Commander through the communicator "Akagi had two ideas in mind: either we surrender and she wins, or we wait it out and she comes at us on our home turf, beats us and then has us submit."

"And us going for option three does what?" asked Z23.

"It'll mess with their minds," he replied "now when they come at us, they'll be overly cautious."

"Isn't that a bad thing?" asked Illustrious.

"Not at all. Every time one of them's about to attack they'll think twice about whether or not its a good idea. And in that space, we attack them and take advantage of the opening."

"That's pretty devious Commander," commented Wales.

**00000000000000**

"Cleveland, Illustrious, Hornet, Belfast, Z23, Prince of Wales, San Diego, Eugen and Enterprise," said Yukikaze to Akagi.

"They're sending their best at us," said Suruga.

"It's only right we do the same," said Akagi.

"All forces, move out," she declared and all the aces of the fleet left the room, ready to carry out their leader's orders.

As Akagi also left the SE island and headed to a nearby island inorder to better survey the battlefield, she thought 'peace is right without our reach. I will not let some damn otherworlder stop that.'

**0000000000000000**

"He was right," said Enterprise, seeing the troops that were coming out to face them.

"He didn't miss a single one," added Z23, referring to the lineup the Sakura Empire sent out.

"**Akagi will attack with Kinu, Suruga, Yukikaze, Soryuu, Hiryuu, Takao, Shokaku, Zuikaku and Akatsuki," said the Commander "She'll keep Kaga in reserve and stay out of the fight in order to keep an eye on things and direct the flow of battle."**

The moment one side could see the other, they wasted no time and started firing. Shokaku, Zuikaku, Hiryuu, Soryuu all attacked with a barrage of airplanes while Takao used her heavy cannons to fire multiple long range shots.

Hornet, Enterprise and Illustrious retaliated with an equally imposing barrage while Wales fired her own volley. The Eagle Union and Sakura Empire forces met in the middle of the otherwise calm ocean, beginning the battle in earnest.

Cleveland fired a few shots against Akatsuki, who deflected the attacks with her knife. Yukikaze leapt up and attacked Z23, but the latter evaded by dashing to her right side. Eugen drew closer, attacking Takao with a fist, while Enterprise faced down Shokaku and Zuikaku. San Diego went after Kinu firing continuously at her, while she moved from side to side, dodging the barrage.

Zuikaku drew her sword and charged at Enterprise with a single strike and Enterprise blocked with her bow. She quickly kicked her opponent away then spun around and fired at Shokaku. Shokaku ducked down, avoiding the barrage and playing a single note on her flute caused a number of planes to appear and attack Enterprise. Suruga came after Belfast with a number of sword swings but the maid was able to dodge them and let off a few damaging close range shots.

Hornet quickly sent out an equally large barrage of planes to help Enterprise, but that was countered by the combined power of Hiryuu and Soryuu. Cleveland tried to help, but Akatsuki was giving her little chance to turn away.

"We have the advantage in numbers and strength," declared Soryuu "press on and we will have the battle."

This declaration was followed by a number of long range shots from Takao, weakening the enemy's frontal line and allowed the attackers from the Sakura Empire to take advantage of this, pushing them further back.

**0000000000000000**

Standing at the top of a hill on a small island, Akagi and Kaga viewed the battle from a distance.

"We have them on the run sister," said Kaga "if we defeat their best soldiers, then taking over the Eagle Union will be easy."

"But of course sister," said Akagi, with a condescending smile "after all, trash is trash."

What the pair didn't know was that they weren't the only ones on the island. Because it had a good vantage point of the battlefield, the Commander requested Z23 leave him here. With Kaga and Akagi also coming here, he was forced to hide in the nearby bushes to avoid detection.

'Well that's my bad luck,' he thought, hearing the sounds of explosions and gun-fire in the distance. By his calculations, things had reached the tipping point in the battle.

**0000000000000000**

Illustrious, Enterprise and Hornet fired another barrage of airplanes, but were immediately put down by Soryuu, Hiryuu, Shokaku and Zuikaku. Wales' barrage was also put down by Takao, Eugen tried attacking her, but Takao's speed and ferocity made it impossible to get in close.

"Eugen you can't take her on your own," shouted Z23, turning to her.

"And just where do you think you're looking?" asked Yukikaze as she fired a number of shots at the target, all of them hitting the mark.

"Enterprise," shouted Hornet, pushing the latter away from a large attack courtesy of the four main aircraft carriers of the Sakura Empire. Hornet was cut in multiple locations and was bleeding badly from her left arm.

'This is bad,' thought Enterprise, surveying the scenery. Everyone was slowly and steadily being pushed back by the Sakura Empire's forces and things were only getting worse as time went on.

"Any last words?" asked Zuikaku, brandishing her sword right at Enterprise's head

"Just one," she said smiling "duck."

"Huh?" said Zuikaku, not understanding what she meant and paid for it when a long range shell hit her side.

"What the?" asked Suruga, noticing this along with the others.

In the distance, they noticed a number of small smoke plumes form, followed by more long range shells hitting their location.

**00000000000000000**

"An ambush fleet?" said Kaga, who was just as surprised as Akagi upon seeing this.

"But they don't have any other aces in their fleet," said Akagi "how is that possible?"

"It doesn't matter," said Kaga, breaking into a run "I'll go take that fleet out myself."

**00000000000000000**

"Hey gang," said Oklahoma through the communicator "now that we're here let's finish up this operation."

"If they're here," said Enterprise looking in the distance. It didn't take long for her to spot Kaga making a beeline towards the ambush fleet.

"**Once the ambush fleet arrives, Kaga will no doubt go after them. When that happens, Enterprise will suspend her fight with everyone else and focus only on Kaga. Do not let her get near the ambush fleet."**

"It's happening just as the Commander predicted," said Cleveland, noticing that the second fleet's long range support was wreaking havoc with the enemy forces, while providing them the time they needed to catch their breath.

"Now's the time," declared Wales "push the enemy back."

"Oh no you don't," shouted Enterprise, firing a few arrows at Kaga, halting her advance. Kaga leapt back, avoiding the attack but could not dodge the strike from Enterprises' bow, sending her staggering from the impact.

Enterprise attacked with more arrows while Kaga created flame based airplanes to defend herself. The pair continued trading blows with each other, with neither side making any headway.

Meanwhile, the ambush fleet's long range attackers were making it impossible for their opponents to have even a moment of rest. Some of the cruisers and destroyers that accompanied the ambush fleet were circling the battlefield, attacking the aces from the Sakura Empire whenever the opportunity presented itself.

**00000000000000000**

"No," said Akagi, shocked at the sudden turn of events. Her fleet, which initially held the advantage were taking heavy damage.

"I need to order a retreat," she said, fearing "but if I do that then they'll be able to…."

Much to her surprise (and everyone else's) Akagi saw a barrage of gunfire coming from a completely different location. At first, she thought the Commander had snuck in a third ambush fleet, but when she saw the attack hitting her side and theirs, a chill ran down her spine.

This chill only grew colder when she heard the tell-tale cackle of a familiar person.

"Hello Akagi," said Overseer Alpha, appearing through a portal behind her.

"Looks like you've outlived your usefulness," she said, with a maliciously wicked smile.

In warfare, no plan survives first contact. It is the job of the leader, or in this case, the Commander to be ready for every scenario and prepare for it as a single mistake could make all the difference in the team coming back home on their feet or in body bags.


	13. A walk to Siren Park

(AN: Thank you to Zeno6804 for pointing out that mistake.)

"What's going on?" shouted Akagi, turning to Overseer.

"I thought you of all people would understand an attack when you see one," she replied, with a shrug.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she said, her voice on the edge of anger "we had a deal, I'd take care of your opponents and make your invasion easier, in return you'd leave my people alone."

"Ah, yes, yes, the proposal," said Overseer, tapping her chin playfully.

"Sorry Akagi," she said, with a fake smile "but your usefulness to us has ended."

"What?" said the leader of the Sakura Empire, feeling a sudden weight press down on her shoulders.

"Don't get me wrong, your deal was a pretty sweet one," said Overseer Alpha, circling her like a predator "you do our dirty work for us and we sit pretty and wait till the end."

"But, right now, we've been given a chance like no other, eliminating both the Sakura Empire's and the Eagle Union's aces in one swift attack."

Akagi could only shudder in horror as the consequences of her actions hit her.

"At first, the Eagle Union wasn't a real threat to us. A faction that took to piracy and attacked whenever it suited them best was no danger in the long run. But then two major changes happened. First was when Enterprise, Eugen, Illustrious and Wales arrived."

"Three different factions working together under a single banner. Those four are like beacons of light and it won't be long before others are drawn in by this group" she said, clenching her fist "the last time we ignored an event like that, the damned Azur Lane was formed and we were sent back, not this time though. This time, we'll stomp them out before they can rise up against us."

"what's the other change?" asked Akagi.

"The otherworlder of course," replied Overseer Alpha "sure there are many who are joining this rebel group because of Enterprise, Wales, Illustrious and Eugen, but it won't be long before they swear their loyalty to the otherworlder."

"You may not know this, but with just Hood and Z23, he was able to take out nearly half of our raiding party. Not once in the history of this world has something like that been possible. If he can do that with just two of you… he'd be unstoppable with a fleet."

"Don't worry Akagi," she said, putting a hand on the despondent leader's head "I'll make sure to kill them quickly."

"NO you won't," she yelled and quickly grabbed her opponent's arm as she rose up about to attack. Unfortunately, for her though, Overseer Alpha reacted faster as multiple tentacles emerged behind her and immediately wrapped themselves around Akagi. This intense vice caused her to release Overseer.

"I can understand you wanting some revenge after what happened," she said, followed by a swift and punishing punch to Akagi's face.

Overseer released her vice-like grip on Akagi and watched her fall down, coughing up some blood from the blow she just received.

"Which is why I'll let it slide," she added.

Instead of saying anything, Overseer Alpha simply waved a condescending wave to Akagi as a portal behind her formed and enveloped her.

Meanwhile Akagi was at a complete loss of what to do.

"My people," she thought imagining them all being mercilessly killed by the Sirens.

"I couldn't protect them," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes, despair setting in on her and no solution in sight.

"Is this…. Really how it ends?" she muttered quietly, raising her body up and letting her tears start trickling down.

From Akagi's perspective, it seemed fitting that the one person she didn't want to see was now standing before her.

"What good timing," she said, looking at the Commander "we were just talking about you."  
He remained silent.

"Did you come here to laugh at me?" asked Akagi, her voice trembling in fear and resignation.

"I didn't."

"You should," she said, lowering her head "when we first met, I was looking down on you. Now here you are, looking down on me."

"Go ahead," she added, "laugh at me, laugh at what I've become."

"I won't."

"THEN JUST GO AWAY," she shouted, throwing a clump of dust at him, but he remained where he stood.

"IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED," she shouted, flinging more dust at him.

"I COULD HAVE PROTECTED THEM, I WOULD HAVE PROTECTED THEM. BUT NOW THEY'RE ALL GOING TO DIE AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT."

"GO AWAY"

"GO AWAY"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

"GO AWAY!"

She continued screaming the same two words at him, while he remained rooted in his spot. Each time she shouted at him, he could feel the despair taking over her. Each time she shouted, she was falling deeper and deeper into a pit from which there was no escape. She did everything she could to protect what she loved and now…. Now she was going to lose it all.

Her voice, what was once filled with confidence and condescension was filled with sorrow and grief. The pain of what was coming had gotten the better of her and in that pain, she turned to the one person who made it all happen.

Her shouts had now decreased to weak whispers and quiet pleas. Her head was still lowered and it looked like she had no energy left.

Then, she raised her head, the emotions laid bare on her face, and he didn't see the ruler of an empire. He saw someone who desperately wanted to protect all that she loved.

"Please," she said, her voice breaking, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Help me," she said, using the last of her strength.

At this point, he could have turned around and walked away. After all, he had no reason to listen to her and if he took advantage of the situation, he could wipe out the Sirens and the Sakura Empire's aces. If he turned around and left her to die, no one back at the base would question it. In fact, considering how Akagi spoke to them last time, they'd all agree with his choice of actions.

It would be easy to leave her to her fate. Instead, he quietly walked up to her and when he was close, he took off his hat and put it on her head saying "hold onto this for me."

As he said that, Akagi felt a chill running down her spine. This was due to how the person she saw now was completely different from the one she met at the EU's headquarters. That person looked unassuming, normal, bland and boring. This person was the complete opposite; having an imposing figure that made her shudder in fear.

She watched quietly as the Commander turned around, heading to where the battle was going on. All of a sudden, she felt a strong wind come up from behind her, causing her to cover her eyes.

When the wind passed and she opened her eyes, Akagi saw that the Commander was not alone. Right next to him was a translucent figure walking alongside him.

It took her all of one second to make out the back of that person, as it was one that was burned into her memory.

"A-ma-gi," she said, trembling and reaching out to the spirit of her beloved older sister. It was at that point, she remembered why the Commander's imposing figure scared her so much, because it was reminiscent of how Amagi used to be.

Although the latter half of her life was spent living inside her castle, her last mission being with the famous fleet of the Azur Lane, Amagi was a force of nature during her prime.

Tales of how she single-handedly faced off against twenty of the Royal Navy's best fighters or of how the almighty Bismarck was brought to a standstill when confronted by Amagi were some of the many stories that were associated to the woman in her heyday.

In fact, one of the reasons why the Sakura Empire is considered the largest faction in this world, is because of how many girls joined up to chase the legend she created.

Amagi's achievements were so great, it even led to a famous saying among the soldiers of the Sakura Empire. It goes "Victory is assured whenever Amagi enters the battlefield."

Years after her death, during the second war with the Sirens, it seemed like the Goddess of victory was once again entering the battlefield.


	14. The Spark

"That stupid fox," chuckled Overseer Alpha, emerging from a portal and standing atop a battleship. She looked on either side, seeing the fleet of ships assembled here and smiled.

"Yes," she said, stroking her chin and smiling as her ships were wreaking havoc on the enemy ships, raining fire on their heads and making it impossible for them to counter.

"This is a very good view."

**0000000000000000**

"Z23, watch out," shouted Enterprise. In response, Z23 skidded to the left, avoiding the artillery strike aimed at her location.

"Sakura Empire on one side and Sirens on the other," said Belfast, standing back-to-back with Eugen "I dare say this is quite the familiar scenario."

"Here's hoping things will be better the second time," said Eugen, shooting down some of the missiles aimed at the pair.

"How's the ambush fleet doing?" asked Enterprise.

"The Sirens haven't noticed us yet," replied Oklahoma "do we attack them or stay hidden?"

"No," said Enterprise, but looked unsure of the decision "hang back for now and keep your position hidden."

'Damn it Commander, where the hell are you?' she wondered, noticing how quiet he had become since the Siren's attacked.

"While I am happy that at least some of our forces are safe," stated Illustrious, covering her face to avoid some of the shrapnel from a nearby shell "what about us? Should we sound the retreat?"

"We're not leaving," said the Commander, breaking his silence, his declaration shocking everyone on the battlefield.

"Commander are you crazy?" exclaimed Hornet, "were getting pounded here by the sirens."

"We've got enemies on both sides here Commander," added Cleveland.

"Do you really think that we can beat both the sirens and the Sakura Empire?" asked Z23.

"I won't lie to you," he replied "this might be our most dangerous mission yet and I'm asking a lot out of you. I may not know the deep history between the Eagle Union and the Sakura Empire, I don't know how often you guys fought… but I do know that if we turn around and leave, if we let the Sirens kill everyone in the Sakura Empire, then we lose."

"We may win this fight, but we'll lose the war."

Those words sent a chill down everyone's spine. At first glance it would be tactically smart for them to leave the Sakura Empire's soldiers to fend for themselves. They'd use the absence of the leaders to attack the capital and take over it.

However, this method would certainly be met with disdain by various members of the two factions, effectively sewing the seeds of a rebellion. It would effectively end everything the Coalition forces had worked for.

Then there were the greater implications that extended beyond the two factions. Right now, the Coalition was a strong fleet, but in order to become a real threat to the Sirens, they'd need more soldiers to join them. Once word got out that the Coalition's aces abandoned the Sakura Empire's aces to fend for themselves, any other faction would think twice before joining them. After all, if they could do it once, what's to stop them from doing it again?

"This is as dangerous as it'll get," said the Commander "it makes sense to leave. In fact, if you were to head back now, I wouldn't hold it against you."

"But you'd still fight them wouldn't you Commander?" asked Z23, "even if it's just two of us, you'd fight them without hesitation, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah," he replied.

Enterprise saw the look in Z23's eyes, the girl had made her decision. The last time she left, an important friend of hers died. She had no intention of turning back now.

She then turned and saw how their rivals were struggling against the onslaught. Soryuu's left arm was badly hurt, Suruga was providing cover fire for Kinu to pick up an unconscious Yukikaze and the only reason Takao was standing was because she was held up by Kaga and Hiryuu.

Every time the Sirens attacked, the only thing they could do was run. Throughout the first war, it was always them running and the Sirens attacking.

Z23, Hornet, they had run for long enough. It was time to turn around and strike back.

"Commander," she said "if we do this, then you'd better give us three weeks of vacation."

"If we pull this off, I'll make it a month," he countered.

"Right then," said Wales "how do you plan on destroying the enemy fleet?"

"Remember those smoke grenades Akashi whipped up for everyone?"

"The ones we were supposed to use for our getaway," stated Belfast.

"Yeah, those. We'll start with that. In the meantime, Z, do you have my location?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Come and pick me up, there's something I'll need your help with."

In the time that Z23, reached the island where the Commander was located, the latter outlined his plan for a counter attack. To put it simply, there were a lot of moving parts, everything hinged on each part working perfectly together and there was a degree of luck that dictated whether this mission would end in success or failure. All in all, it was a dicey plan at best and a suicide plan at worst.

Nevertheless, the teams were committed to winning this confrontation, and so they started the first phase of the plan.

**000000000000000**

"Oh?" said Overseer Alpha, noticing clouds of smoke suddenly engulfing the battlefield. She raised her hand up, causing the ships on her sides to stop their advance. It was a cautionary move and one she paid for.

From the smoke a long-range shell tore through and pierced the side of one of her cruisers.

'They're using smoke to hide their positions and fire at us," she said, smiling cheekily "Continue with the barrage. Even if we miss them nine time out of ten, that's still enough."

**000000000000000**

"What are…" said Kaga "what are you all doing?"

"Just stay behind us and whatever you do, don't leave the cover of the smoke," said Cleveland, firing blindly in the direction of the sirens.

"Can we trust them?" asked Takao, now able to stand on her own.

"I don't know," said Hiryuu "for all we know this could be a trap."

"Do we have to spell it out for you?" shouted Hornet "we're not your enemy. They are."

**000000000000000**

"We're here," said Z23, "have I mentioned how much I don't want to be here?"

"Yes, more than once," said the Commander "once you've done your part, head back to the line."

"You know it'd be a lot better if it were Cleveland or I doing this," she added.

"I know, but I need you on the ground when the time comes. For that to happen, someone else has to do their part for phase 2. Since no one else is around, that has to be me."

The reason why Z23 commented on how much she did not like her current position was because they were standing directly under the Siren fleet. It was either their luck or the Siren's arrogance they didn't look down and see if someone was there.

"How will we know when to start?" she asked.

"Stick to the timings," he replied.

Z23 rested her head on his back, quietly telling him "you'd better come back alive Commander."

"I plan to," he said and Z23 put her arms around his waist and with all her strength, she threw him up, towards the Siren fleet.

When he was still on the Navy, he befriended one of the pilots and was able to convince said pilot to take him in his jet, during one of their recon missions. It was an ill-fated move as the constant pressure, the G-force experienced and the continuous turns and sudden drops caused him to vomit out his breakfast and lunch after landing.

This ascent almost felt like he was in a jet, climbing higher and higher. It was not a comfortable experience to say the least. But the Commander was able to land on the left-most ship without too much trouble.

As he was getting to his feet, he was immediately assailed by the strong winds that were felt at such heights.

"Just like I planned," he said to himself. He turned and saw the second row of ships, the Siren's versions of Aircraft carriers and Battleships and waved at them.

"HEY UGLY," he shouted (for all the good it did). "BET YA CAN'T HIT ME."

Although his words did not reach them, the fact that he was a huge black dot standing on top of one of their ships got the Sirens attention. As a result, he now saw some of the Battleships turning to him, their guns having him in the centre of their sights.

One of the battleships fired and the Commander quickly ran to his left side, avoiding the attack. This was followed by another shell, but he dodged that too. The Commander noticed that he was nearing the edge of the ship and proceeded to leap off, aiming for the ship closest to the one that he was just on.

Given the distance between the two ships, no human being could make that jump. The only reason he did was thanks to the strong gust of wind that gave him the extra distance he needed. As he got to his feet, he saw multiple airplanes flying towards him. He quickly took out his sabre and cut through the closest ones and avoided the ones further away.

His actions did not go unnoticed and now Overseer Alpha had turned her attention to him.

"So, the plan was to distract me while the Otherworlder came in for the kill," she stated "he must still be mad at us for killing that woman."

And just like that, the Siren fleet turned their attention away from the fleet infront of them and were now aiming to wipe out the Otherworlder.

On paper it seemed like a simple task. Take out one enemy. The Sirens had wiped out entire fleets with little resistance, so a single enemy proved no threat.

But as the Sirens kept firing and firing, they found that this initially easy task was not so easy at all. Whether it was due to the continuously shifting winds that altered the course of their projectiles ever so slightly or the Otherworlder being able to accurately predict the path of their projectiles, for the first time the Siren fleet were finding it difficult to take out this enemy.

"How is this possible?" wondered Overseer Alpha "there's just one of him, one damn Otherworlder."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted at her fleet "how are you missing him?"

Considering the situation he was in, the stakes at play, the low chance of success and the high risk of failure, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Commander was scared of making a mistake.

Yet with all of that bearing down on him, the Commander was charging from one ship to the next, getting closer and closer to the Sirens.

He could not afford to think about losing. All that was running through his mind was winning. Losing here would mean losing everything that brought him here in the first place. His fleet were trusting him with their lives, everyone back at the base trusted that he'd win, Hood died believing in him.

'Hood,' he thought, covering his face as a shell exploded too close to him sending shrapnel into his chest and legs 'I wonder if this is what you went through when you charged the enemy.'

The airplanes launched at him landed cuts on his face and arm, there were injuries on his chest, his sides and his feet, the adrenaline fueling him for so long had stopped and the pain of his injuries threatened to slow his advance.

But he kept going.

"This can't be," said Overseer Alpha, feeling a chill run down her spine. By all counts he should be dead. She knew that if it were anyone else, they'd have been dead long before they even reached the first ship. But against all odds he was getting closer and closer.

"Stay away," she said, unconsciously taking a step back "stay the hell away from me."

"Only one left," he said, pointing his sword. Overseer Alpha was only one ship away. The only thing between her and him was an incredibly long distance.

The longer he stayed, the easier of a target he became. The Commander ran off the side of the ship leapt off at the last second and landed on her ship. Without wasting a second, he charged towards Overseer Alpha, who was now running away from him.

Try as she might to teleport herself away, she found that she couldn't thanks to how her mind was in complete disarray.

It didn't take long for him to corner her. Overseer's was near the edge of her ship and the Commander was drawing closer.

"This can't be happening, this isn't possible," she kept telling herself, hoping desperately that it would stop him.

The Commander said nothing. He simply raised his sword up and swung it down, intending to cut her down where she stood.

Or at least that's what should have happened.

Overseer Alpha expected her end to be a swift and painless affair. Instead, she noticed the sword only a few inches away from her, causing a smile to form on her lips.

"Of course," she said, feeling a surge of confidence "the force field."

"What?" said the Commander in shock and was immediately knocked away by one of her tentacles.

"Hahahaha," she laughed menacingly as she was the one holding the upper hand while he was the one with his back against the wall.

"It doesn't make sense," he said, crawling back "the other one didn't have any forcefields."

"Of course not," shouted Overseer "we'd never give such valuable technology to the rank and file. No that's only reserved for someone like me, one of the top three leaders."

"I'll be honest with you Otherworlder," she said, drawing closer "I honestly thought you were going to kill me there. That was quite the scare."

"No one's ever been able to do that to me and as consolation," she said, with only a hair's breadth distance between them "I'll let you watch as I kill all your friends."

Overseer Alpha followed this up with a maniacal laugh, solidifying her victory. Despite everything he did, the Otherworlder had no clue about this ace in the hole she had and as a result, he lost. The rebellion was over and nothing would stop the Sirens from taking this world.

Overseer Alpha continued to laugh, but as she did, she heard something strange. She noticed he was laughing as well.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked, looking surprised by his actions.

"Because," he said in-between chuckles "for an alien race with floating ships, teleporters and forcefields, you guys are a bunch of idiots."

"What?" she said, her anger reaching a boiling point now.

"Think about it, for a minute here," said the Commander, "I've got one good arm and even on my best day, I could snap a wooden board in half while the girls here could shatter three storey buildings in a single shot."

"I was never the trump card," he said, and Overseer Alpha began to shudder.

"I was the distraction," he added and rolled off the edge.

It was only now that Overseer Alpha noticed that the barrage from her enemies had suddenly stopped.

**0000000000000  
**

**(AN: Try to imagine the opening menu to Project Nimbus playing here.)**

Meanwhile, back on the sea, Enterprise raised her bow up and fired an arrow. Hornet flung as many airplanes as she could. Illustrious pressed certain parts of the runway like a professional pianist, creating numerous airplanes as well.

This was then followed by the first fleet and the ambush fleet letting out a storm of shells and airplanes, all of which were trained on the Siren fleet.

As stated before, the plan revolved on a lot of moving parts. For easier understanding, they'll be called Phases. Phase 1 was where the first fleet used their smoke grenades and pretend to attack the Sirens, allowing the ambush fleet the time they needed to reach them.

Once the ambush fleet reached them, the two teams would form a firing squad. Of course, this took time, which was why Phase 2 involved the Commander running across the Siren fleet, keeping them focused on him and allowing the others the time they needed.

Phase 2 had the unintended side effect of some of the Siren ships getting damaged thanks to how much the Commander was dodging them. After he had strung them along for a set amount of time, he'd make his escape.

If Phase 1 and Phase 2 went off smoothly, then Phase 3 became the easiest part of the entire plan.

With their line in disarray and some of their ships damaged, the Sirens were now wide open for a counter attack.

"Keep pouring it on everyone," shouted Hornet "the Commander risked his life to get us this chance, so you better not miss."

As the Coalition forces assailed their enemies with a barrage of bullets, missiles and shells, the aces of the Sakura Empire looked on in surprise.

Both Hiryuu and Soryuu, remembered Hornet's words ringing through their minds at the same time.

"'We're not your enemies.'"

And she was right. There was only one enemy that they had, one enemy that everyone in this world had and they were the Sirens. Thanks to the Sirens, the peace so many of them knew and loved was gone. Thanks to them, there was another brutal and terrible war being waged.

'They're the enemy,' thought Soryuu and Hiryuu as their blood started to boil.

This way why the two of them looked at their friends and shouted in unison "everyone, fire on the sirens!"

And in that moment, the spark of rebellion that began with Hood, became a full-blown inferno.

Kaga, Suruga, Yukikaze, Takao, Shokaku, Zuikaku, Kinu and Akatsuki trained their weapons on the Siren fleet and with a shout loud enough to shake the sky, the unleashed their fury into their enemy.

The orchestra of gun and cannon fire doubled in size, igniting more than half the sky in in a massive explosion. To the attackers continuing their assault, this was where the rebellion truly began. It was here where two different factions with a long-standing rivalry against each other buried the hatchet, right into their enemy's head.

To the human closest to the destruction, it looked like Heaven itself was torn wide open and from it, fire came pouring out.

And, to the fox standing at the top of the hill, watching the spectacle unfold, it looked like a giant Sakura tree in full bloom.

As much as they wanted to continue firing, both fleets had to stop. Not because they were getting tired, but because they simply had no more ammunition left to expend.

The sky filled with explosions now turned into a large black cloud and everyone wondered if they had done enough. When the smoke cleared, it was almost impossible to describe what they were seeing.

The supposedly almighty Siren fleet that came to destroy them was reduced to a single cruiser. Even that survivor suffered from numerous holes across its body and a number of smaller explosions riddling the deck. Rather than risk its luck any further, the lone cruiser quickly teleported out of the battlefield.

There was silence among the soldiers, no doubt they were all trying to get to grips with what they were seeing.

"Did we…," said Hornet, breaking the silence "did we win?"

"We did it," said Kinu, still in shock, as was the case with everyone else.

"We… really…. We really did it," said Illustrious who looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Hornet," said Enterprise, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder "shout it out loud."

With a big smile on her face, Hornet cried out "we won."

The two factions began cheering and exclaiming that they won as loud as they could. Everyone was congratulating each other and celebrating this moment. There were also a few of them who were crying, but these were tears of joy, not sadness.

"I can't believe we pulled it off," said Eugen, looking at the empty sky that was once filled with Siren ships.

"It still feels a little hard to believe," said Z23, "but we did it, we beat them."

"Guys," said the Commander through the communicator.

"Commander," exclaimed Enterprise "we did it. We really did it. We beat them Commander. Did you see it?"

"Yeah, I did. It was one hell of a light show you guys put on," he said.

"Everyone from the Sakura Empire also helped us," she added, "you should have seen it."

"Probably missed out on something really big there," he said "there's something I wanted to run by you guys."

"Huh?" she asked, covering her other ear

"It turns out that when I was planning this whole mission…. I kind of forgot about how I was going to land."

"Say what now?"

"The landing. In the plan. I forgot to have one."

"EHHHHHHH?" shouted Enterprise, reflecting how surprised she was at the Commander forgetting such a crucial part.


	15. Promise

She recounted the series of events with an accuracy that befitted the leader of the Sakura Empire. From her breakdown to the lone Siren ship retreating, she recalled it perfectly.

However, that did little to detract from the fact that it was like a whirlwind of events that happened so fast, if you were to blink, you'd miss it entirely.

"He did it," said Akagi, clutching onto the cap he put on her head before leaving.

**0000000000000000**

"Commander what do you mean you don't have a way of landing?" shouted Enterprise.

"Exactly as I said. I don't think I can elaborate on it any further."

"Don't get lippy with me, Mister."

"Sorry. Now can someone please come and catch me before I turn into fish food?"

"That might not be a good idea," stated Z23.

"How so?" asked Enterprise and the Commander.

"Think about the speed at which you're falling and imagine one of us catching you. Given how strong we are compared to you, you'd likely be sliced into three pieces instead of being caught like normal."

"Oh snap," he shouted, sounding more panicked than before "fine, scratch the catch me plan. Can one of you jump up and catch me?"

"I guess that's possible," said Eugen, looking in the direction he might be.

"Man, I can't believe you didn't think about landing Commander," said Hornet.

"Yes," added Illustrious "given your penchant for always being ready, this seems like a huge step in the other direction."

"Well either way," said Enterprise "I'll go ahead and get him. The rest of you can stay here."

Enterprise tried to take a step forward, but found that she could not.

"Hmm?" she said, looking down followed by the words "uh-oh."

"'Uh-oh?'" he repeated through the communicator "that is not something a guy falling to his death wants to hear."

"Uh, Commander," said Enterprise, looking nervous "we've used up all our fuel."

In order for any of the girls of this world to fight on the seas, they are required to have an adequate amount of ammunition along with oil. The oil allows them to nimbly move across the surface of the sea and allows them the ability to utilize weapons to their fullest.

However, the amount of oil any girl can carry is limited to a set amount and as such, once that supply is exhausted, their mobility drops dramatically down to zero.

"….."

"C-Commander?" asked Enterprise.

"Yep, this is how it's going to end," he replied, seemingly resigned to his fate.

"AAHHH, the Commander's just threw in the towel," shouted Enterprise.

"This is bad," said Cleveland, turning to the girls from the Sakura Empire "any chance you guys have some fuel left?"

In response, they all tried to move only to be met with the same results.

"Uh-oh," said Yukikaze.

"We're all… stranded here," said Kaga.

"Wait," said Z23, "don't we normally pack a reserve fuel supply just in case of times like these?"

Everyone's expressions lightened up a moment, only to fall flat the very next second.

"We normally do have those," said Ranger, apologetically.

"But… we used it up during the counterattack," said Oklahoma.

"Commander," said Enterprise "don't worry, we'll get you safe and sound back on the ground in no time."

"….. bequeath the following items to my friends," said the Commander, no longer listening.

"Oh great, he's already saying his will," said Wales.

Just then they noticed everyone in the Sakura Empire pressing their hand against their ear, as if listening to some communication.

"Wait… hold on a second my lady," said Hiryuu "can you switch to an open channel?"

There was a silence for a moment, followed by the three fleets hearing the same message.

"This is Akagi, I'm heading to his position," she said.

After overhearing the conversation from the Coalition fleet, Akagi knew now was the time to act. With that in mind, she bounded down the hill at quickly as she could, reaching the beach and dashing through the water as fast as she could.

Given the position of the Siren fleet, she was able figure out where the Commander was and where she should position herself. Once she was in the right place, she wasted no time in leaping up.

**000000000000000**

The story about the Fox and the Cherry Blossom was the last story Amagi read to her sisters. After hearing about her death, Akagi kept the book away in storage, in an effort to remember the memories she had of her sister. As a result, she never got to read the rest of the story and find out what happened to the fox.

The fox soon became tired and sad from not being able to catch the cherry blossoms from the old tree. It realized that the only reason it played pranks on the other animals was because it did not know how to make friends with them and thought this was the best way to do it.

Realizing that being made a fool was a bad thing, the fox apologized to the old tree and promised to never play pranks again. In response, the old tree grew one last Cherry Blossom petal and let it fall to the ground. The fox was able to grab the petal, finally overcoming the punishment. It thanked the old tree, went back to the other animals and apologized for what it did.

The fox became friends with the animals and spent the rest of its days living a happy and fun-filled life in the forest.

**00000000000000**

"I've got you," said the fox to the cherry blossom, holding onto him as if he was the one rescuing her.

"I've got you," she repeated "and I swear I'll never let you go."

As the pair descended, Akagi spoke, "This is Akagi to both fleets. I've contacted my base and you'll be refueled in another fifteen minutes. Afterwards, please come to the island nearest to us. I have something important to tell."

**00000000000000**

"Enterprise," said Hornet, looking very worried "Enterprise, I can see the veins on your forehead."

"Oy," said Enterprise, emitting a menacing aura, while the veins on her head and hands became noticeable "what did she mean by she isn't letting him go?"

"Maybe…. Maybe your Commander was scared that Akagi was coming for him," said Soryuu in an effort to defuse the situation.

"Yeah, maybe she said that to calm him down," added Hiryuu.

"That has to be it," said Hornet.

"Of course, it's not like Akagi meant something else by it," added Illustrious.

"For her sake that better be it," said Enterprise, looking in the direction where Akagi and the Commander had supposedly landed.

"Hey you two," said Hornet to Belfast and Z23 "how about saying something to calm her down?"

Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears as the pair looked equally annoyed by what Akagi said.

**00000000000000000**

Although he was initially happy and elated that he would not be turned into fish food, after a period of time had passed, the Commander felt awkward, given his present situation.

"Umm….. Akagi," he said, trying to move, but couldn't.

"You can let go now," he added, referring to the fact that Akagi was still hugging him, even though they were on the ground, safe and sound.

"No," she said, almost immediately.

"But I'm safe now."

"I still feel like you'll get into trouble if I leave you alone for even a second."

"I can't get into any trouble if there's no one here."

"The only reason no one's here is because I'm keeping you safe."

'That isn't a logical argument,' he thought and tried to wriggle himself free but the girl's grip and their difference in strength made it an impossible venture.

"Akagi," he said, noticing something "are you….. sniffing me?"

She didn't answer, not immediately at least. Instead she waited for an awkwardly long period of time to pass before saying "No~" in a way that did little to convince him.

"Akagi, just what do you think you're doing," shouted a familiar voice.

"Oh great," said Akagi, looking up and seeing Enterprise stomping towards the pair of them, followed by Belfast, Z23 and the rest of the fleet.

Before Akagi could say anything, Enterprise literally yanked the Commander out of her grasp and placed him next to her.

"Commander," she said, staring daggers into him "we'll be having a talk about your behavior."

"Huh?" he asked, taking a step back "what did I do?"

"Belfast," he said, turning to her "what did I do?".

But his only response came from Belfast giving him an un-characteristic "Hmph" and looking in another direction.

"Commander," said Cleveland, "putting a hand on his should "I hope your affairs are in order."

"Huh?"

"What was it you wanted to say Akagi?", said Enterprise, ignoring the confused Commander.

"Ah, that's right, there's something important I wanted to tell the Commander but I wanted to do it when both sides were present."

Akagi now reached her hand out, gently holding the Commander's hand, before going to one knee and lowering her head, a gesture that seemed to have caught everyone by surprise.

"I Akagi, leader of the Sakura Empire do pledge my loyalty to you. From this day forward, you are my Commander and I will serve your will. Your ambitions are my own, your enemies are my enemies as well. Now, until the end of my life, I will remain by your side as…"

Akagi had to stop when she felt the Commander's hand move away. She raised her head up and saw a very flustered Enterprise dragging the Commander away by his collar and putting him behind her.

"What do you think you're doing Akagi?" she shouted.

"Sister," said Kaga, "isn't this a little too much?"

"What do you mean?" asked Akagi, behaving like nothing was wrong at all.

"You and I both know that the pledge of loyalty is just one line," interjected Enterprise "that extra stuff you put in there made it sound less like a pledge of loyalty and more like a….. a…."

"A marriage proposal? That's because it is," said Akagi in a matter-of-fact way.

"Eh?" said Enterprise, shocked by the frankness of her voice.

"Eh?" said Kaga, shocked at her sister's declaration.

"Eh?" shouted the Commander, shocked for obvious reasons.

"Well it shouldn't come as such a surprise to you," said Akagi "the Commander is a strong, capable and reliable. His position requires for there to be someone by his side to lean on when things get difficult."

"Sister," said Kaga, now throwing her voice into the argument "you can't just do something like that. You don't even know the person you're pledging yourself to. For all we know, that man could be a letch in hiding."

"Oh please," interjected Belfast "the Commander's about as dangerous as a dead leaf.

"Hey," said the Commander, taking offense to the comment and was given a pat on the back by Hornet.

"And besides," said Enterprise, taking control of the argument "you can't pledge yourself to him because…"

"Because?" asked Akagi.

"Because I already have," she shouted.

"She did?" shouted Z23 in surprise.

"she did?" shouted Hornet, turning to the Commander.

"She did?" shouted the man in question.

Akagi took a step forward, examining Enterprise closely, then moved away and gave her a smug smile.

"You're lying," she said, followed with a scoff "there's not a whiff of his scent on you."

"So you were sniffing me," shouted the Commander from behind. However, in light of everything that was going on, his voice was about as important as ambient noises were in a horror movie.

"Either way, you're still not getting him," said Enterprise, crossing her arms.

"Is that right?" asked Akagi, raising her eyebrow.

"Sister please be reasonable here," pleaded Kaga "you don't know anything about this otherworlder."

"Fine, let's settle this like how we normally do," declared Akagi.

As much as Enterprise was ready to lay the smackdown on Akagi's head, she was suddenly hit with a brilliant idea.

"You know what," she said "instead of that let's try something else."

Akagi watched as Enterprise grabbed the Commander once again and put him directly in-between the two of them.

"Now choose," said Enterprise to him "decide Commander, who do you want?"

"HUH? How did it get to this?" he shouted, looking about as panicky as one would get in this situation.

"Well it all started that night when we went out of the headquarters and saw cherry blossoms falling, which is strange because there weren't any trees like that on the base," said Belfast.

"You're not helping," he interjected.

"Well Commander," said Akagi "it's time to decide."

It was at this moment, the Commander remembered one particular animated show he saw when he stayed at Kazu and his family's place during the holidays.

The story revolved around a pair of ridiculously buff men trying to defeat what could only be described as 'Aztec stripper Gods.' The main character of this story was a man who employed a seemingly bizarre tactic as a way to get the upper hand on his opponents.

Considering that he was in a position where there was no discernable answer available, the Commander resorted to using that technique and like the main character, started running away in the opposite direction.

In a shocking turn that left everyone on the island stunned, the Commander ran as fast as he could, before reaching the beach and proceeding to swim away.

Although the employment of the tactic was sound, the differences between the Commander and the main character of the story were vast. For example, the main character was known for being a keenly observant and quick-thinking man, while the Commander wasn't. Secondly (and perhaps the most important one), you cannot hope to swim that far with one hand.

These were the two reasons why the Commander was caught and brought back to the Island. However, in light of everything that happened, Hornet and Kaga were able to convince Enterprise and Akagi respectively to have this conversation for another day. As a result, the Commander was spared from a difficult decision but was not out of hot water yet.

All the way back home, he was given the cold shoulder by Enterprise, Belfast and Z23.

**(AN: Between Akagi and Enterprise, even the greatest scholars of our time have been unable to land on a definitive answer.)**

**00000000000000**

*Night three of the Coalition victory party.

The Commander entered the elevator and pressed the button to take him down. He received a message from Akashi half an hour before, asking him to come to a location on the base and that he should come alone.

He waited till everyone was enjoying themselves too much to notice his absence and slipped away. Once in the elevator, he watched the numbers keep changing, indicating how deep down he was going.

When the display landed on '-5', the elevator stopped and the door opened. He stepped outside and saw an illuminated pathway before him, ending with a large platform where Akashi, Purin and Buri were waiting.

"Girls, it's been a while," he said, coming to them "how have you been?"

"We feel different Commander," said Purin "what you did….."

"Yeah, not something I plan to do again. But enough about that, what's with all the cloak and dagger here?"

"We were looking through the base and found information about these lower levels Comnyander," said Akashi, holding up a tablet.

"Purin and Buri helped me crack the code and when we got here…. This is what we found."

Akashi pressed something on the tablet. In response, they heard the sound of machines whirring, leading to six large cylindrical chambers raising up around the platform. The Commander took a step closer at one of the chambers, wiping away the dust.

"Whoa," he said, taking a step back "there's a woman in here."

"Yes Comnyander," said Akashi "they are a group of ships that were in development during the first war, but development was never completed."

"Why's that?" he asked

"Because it required a large amount of resources," replied Buri

"I see. And what category do these ships come under?"

"A unique one," replied Akashi "they're called Priority Class."

**(AN: time for a little break from the action)**


	16. Foxes, Eagles and Bros

"You should have seen it Yorktown," declared Hornet "they were firing at us, we were firing at them, then the girls from the Sakura Empire attacked the Sirens. We screamed, they screamed, we all kept shooting and shooting…."

"And then when the smoke cleared, we won," she added, falling down, after having retold the entire story of their latest mission to Yorktown, who was sitting in her classroom, along with Enterprise, drinking a cup of tea Juneau prepared for them.

"Was it as dramatic as Hornet puts it?" asked Yorktown to Enterprise with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it was just as crazy as she put it," she replied "sometimes I wonder how we survived that encounter."

"Well we did and now our fleet's got twice as bigger," said Hornet.

As much as Enterprise was glad that they won and that their fleet had indeed become stronger, her eye twitched a little at the idea of some of the new members joining the fleet.

"By the way," said Yorktown "I heard the Commander received a title at the start of the swearing in ceremony."

"Yeah, 'The Will of Azure'," said Hornet "that's the title Akagi gave him."

"Symbolizing how he's carrying on the goals and ambitions of the Azur Lane," elaborated Enterprise.

"Well, he has done a lot in the short time he came here," said Yorktown, putting her arm around Enterprise and pulling her in for a quick hug.

"From bringing my sister back, to giving me this wonderful job of teaching children, I'd say the Commander deserves that title."

"Hey let me in on that too," interjected Hornet, leaping forward to hug both Yorktown and Enterprise at once.

"And what about the other title the Commander got?"

The second title that Yorktown referred to here was 'Tearkjerker.' It stemmed from the fact that in the three operations conducted by the fleet, the Commander had unintentionally made someone cry. First was Hornet, second was Z23 and the latest victim was Akagi.

**00000000000000000000**

For some reason he felt that the pillow he was sleeping on was a lot softer than usual. He didn't recall fluffing the pillow when he returned and he was sure Belfast hadn't replaced the linen either. Nevertheless, he was enjoying how soft the pillow was.

Perhaps, on instinct, he put his hand on the pillow. This was followed by him hearing "oh my."

At first he paid it no mind. Then, realizing that pillows were not capable of speech, opened his eyes and found that he was not sleeping on a pillow, he was sleeping on five tails.

"Commander I never knew you were such a straight-forward person," said Akagi, to whom the tails belonged to, further adding to his confusion.

"You should be a little careful with us Commander," she added, warmly smiling at him "we can't all be beasts like you."

"Good morning Commander," said Belfast, entering the room along with Z23.

"Commander we've got a lot of work to do today because of our integration with the Sakura Empire so I'll need you to…."

"Sorry, girls but I think you'll need to come back a little later," said Akagi

"The Commander was busy fluffing my tails," she added in a tone that suggested at the sentence meaning something else.

From their expressions, he could tell how their opinion of him was plummeting as each second passed.

"You letch," said Z23, saying what she and Belfast were thinking.

**00000000000000000**

Midway through their daily training routine, the Commander skidded back after blocking a strike to the chest from Belfast. Wasting no time, he quickly went on the offensive, attacking her with multiple sword thrusts.

'I expected him to be a little lazy,' thought Belfast, dodging the thrusts and drawing closer. She retaliated with a punch aimed at his gut, but the Commander used the flat side of his sabre to deflect the path of the attack.

He attacked her with an upward swing but Belfast quickly leapt back, landing on her hands and spun her legs out to keep him from getting closer. Just as she was getting to her feet, she saw him charging her again with another thrust and readied herself.

'Given how popular he's become over the past few weeks, I expected him to be enjoying the new fame. Yet here he is, doing his due diligence,' she thought, while he drew closer.

Belfast was surprised when the Commander threw the sabre at her, in an attempt to blindside her. She was able to react in time and deflect the blade. But in that time, he closed the distance between them, then spun around and knocked her off her feet.

Although Belfast recovered from the strike, when he raised her head, she saw him pointing his sword at her.

"So that day has finally arrived when you bested me in battle," she said, smiling at him.

"You're being nice to me," he said, reaching down and helping her up "we both know if this were an honest fight, you'd floor me in five seconds."

"True, but at least we know you've fully adapted to fighting with one arm."

"Commander," said Belfast "would you mind if we sit here and relaxed a little?"

This was an admittedly odd request for her to make, given that she never asked anything from him. But since it was the first time she asked something of him, he had no intention of saying no.

"Belfast," he said, a little later.

"Yes, Master?" asked Belfast.

"When you said you wanted us to relax, you actually meant that you wanted to relax," he said, referring to the fact that Belfast was resting her head on his lap.

"Shush now, pillows are not allowed to talk," she said, dismissing his argument immediately.

**00000000000000000**

After spending half an hour being a pillow, the Commander bathed and changed into his regular clothes. Once that was done, he went out of his room, heading straight for the cafeteria, ready for breakfast.

"Hey Hornet," he said, greeting the person in charge of everyone's food "what's cooking today?"

Just as Hornet was about to answer, Hornet noticed a hand grab the Commander by the collar and drag him away.

"It must be difficult being popular," she mused to herself then continued serving the others.

"Commander fancy seeing you here," said Akagi, "I was just about to step in and get some food and then I saw you, what good fortune."

"Since you're here Commander," she added "I'd like your help with something."

Akagi proceeded to take out a large four-tiered lacquered box and drop it on the table, the weight causing the table to shake.

"It seems that while I was happily busy preparing morning food, I seem to have made too much," she said, not noticing how the Commander's eyes nearly popped out at her version of 'too much food.'

"I've already eaten so I'm pretty full, could you help me finish this?"

"Wait, if you ate already why did you come to the cafeteria?" he asked.

"I'll even feed it to you," she said, completely ignoring the question.

"I knew you were up to something," shouted a voice from the right. Akagi, the Commander and everyone else saw Enterprise standing at the entrance, holding an equally imposing box in her hand.

"Here I was thinking you'd gone back to your base, but instead here you are causing trouble for the Commander," she said, stomping her way towards the pair, not minding how concerned everyone else in the cafeteria became.

"I'm not doing anything," said Akagi, looking away "I'm simply giving the Commander something different to eat. Nothing wrong with trying new things."

"Well sometimes," she said, dropping her box of food on the table, causing it to wobble a little "there's nothing wrong with eating what you already know. There's a comfort in the familiar."

"But trying new things are more exciting," countered Akagi.

Seeing as the conversation did not involve food but, referred to something else, he thought it was best to leave. The Commander slowly and carefully slid out of the chair and was ready to walk away, when two hands grabbed him by the collar.

"You're not escaping this time," said Enterprise, glaring at the Commander, who shrunk under her gaze.

"Time to decide," declared Akagi "whose food are you eating?"

"What?" he shouted, feeling the same tension he did on the beach when the pair asked him to choose between one or the other "you can't expect me to eat all of this."

"Of course not," said Enterprise "you can't eat both the boxes, you can only eat one. So decide, which one you're going to finish."

**00000000000000000**

"You ate it?" asked Yorktown.

"Mmhmm," came the reply.

"All of it?"

"Mmhmm"

"From both the boxes?"

"I don't think I can eat anything for a whole week," he said, lying on the floor of Yorktown's class while the kids were busy running circles around him (which only made him woozier).

"Those two are back to their old tricks again I see,"

"What do you mean?" he asked, rising up and immediately regretted doing so.

"When they were young, Akagi and Enterprise were pretty competitive," said Yorktown "they'd always see who was better at this, who shot down more planes than the other, who hit the other more…. those sorts of things."

"That's great and all but why have they suddenly set their sights on me?" he asked, still unable to stand up. "I'm pretty sure Akagi hated me the first time she saw me."

"That's just the weight that comes with popularity," she said.

"Quick question Yorktown, you're pretty knowledgeable about a lot of people here. What can you tell me about Akagi?"

"Hmm, if I were to summarize her," she said, tapping her chin "I'd say that she is as cold as ice to her enemies but warm and kind to her friends. She is pretty passionate about what she likes and if there's something that catches her interest, she won't stop until she has it."

"Well that explains why she broke into my room in the morning," he said and Yorktown chuckled.

Just then, Yorktown noticed Juneau entering the room.

"Um, Commander," she said, addressing the rug on the ground "they know you're here."

At this, the Commander shot to his feet, panicking and looking for a way out. Then, he noticed the window.

"Please don't break the glass on your way out," suggested Yorktown.

**00000000000000000**

Cleveland was strolling through the base, reading a romance comic. She was particularly engrossed with how charming the guy of the story was.

'It's pretty nice how the two of them met,' she thought 'I wonder if I'll meet someone like that.'

"Nah," she said, "there's no way something that absurd would happen."

As if on queue, she saw someone open a window, leap outside and land on their feet. Cleveland watched in amazement as the scene playing out before her was exactly the one she read in the comic.

"Comman-, "she said, but he quickly put his hand over her mouth.

"Shhhh," he said, looking to the left and then to the right "you saw nothing."

Cleveland watched as he ducked into the nearby bushes. To make matters more confusing, she now saw Akagi and Enterprise leaping out the window as well.

"Ah, Cleveland," said Enterprise, turning to her, "have you seen the Commander?"

At this point, the girl was at an impasse. She could answer honestly and point to the bushes where he was hiding. If she were to lie though, she'd give him room to breathe a little but will later face the wrath of two very dangerous women.

"He went that way," said Cleveland, choosing the latter instead of the former.

"Thanks," said Enterprise.

"This is your fault you stupid eagle," chided Akagi "if you weren't so forceful with trying to make him eat your food, he wouldn't be running from us in the first place."

"My fault?" shouted Enterprise "I'm not the moron that broke into his room just to greet him when he wakes up."

"It was an act of loyalty."

"Shut up, you stupid fox."

As the pair drew further away, Cleveland sighed in relief. She now made her way to the bushes and found the Commander sighing in relief.

"Thanks Cleveland," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder "you really saved my butt this time."

"No problem Commander," she said, sitting next to him "by the way, why are you running away from Akagi and Enterprise?"

"I heard the story from Yorktown, apparently the two of them are long standing rivals. And now, for some unknown reason, I'm suddenly stuck being their tie-breaker."

"Then choose one of them," she said, with a shrug.

"I can't choose between them. Enterprise is level headed, calm, loyal, strong and fearless. Akagi is passionate, dedicated, focused, kind and caring."

"You noticed how they more or less have the same qualities?"

"Yeah…." He said, pausing at the strangeness behind the coincidence "that's weird."

"Ah, I got it," she said, having figured something out.

"Instead of choosing between either of them, why not choose someone else entirely?"

"Who?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to how popular he'd become.

Perhaps it was the fact that she was caught up in the romance of the comic she was reading. All right it was mostly because she was still interested in the romance of her comic book. That thought greatly influenced her decision.

"What about me?" she said, looking a little shy at the idea.

"Yeah, no," he replied, dismissing the idea almost immediately.

"Why not?"

"Because," he replied, putting a hand on her "you're my bro."

"What?" she asked, followed the sound of glass crashing in the background.

"Think about it Cleveland," he said "you're my buddy, a best friend, a confidante, the wingman, the guy who'd help me get back home when I'm stone cold drunk."

"But, but, I'm a girl."

"Yeah, but you have a very brotherly vibe to you. So you a bro to me Cleveland, Cleveland my brother, Clevebro."

Hearing this, Cleveland said nothing. Instead, she stood up and shouted "Enterprise, Akagi, he's over here."

"Cleveland!" he shouted

"I'm not your bro!"

"Cleve."

"I am not your bro."

"Clevebro"

"Not your bro." 


	17. Adventures in Babysitting

**000000 The night before 000000**

"How's it going with the research, kids?" asked Akashi to the two sisters working in the research lab.

"We're making great strides in the overall progression," said Buri "but it'll be a while before anything concrete happens."

"We're also conducting experiments on Wisdom Cubes," said Puri "how the Commander managed to make them work is a mystery and we're trying to unravel it."

"Good, good," said Akashi, nodding "and should it be glowing like that?"

And just like that, the whole island was enveloped in a bright white light.

**0000000000000**

"Master," said a soft, voice that almost didn't register.

"Master please wake up," said the voice again.

"Master."

'Belfast is never that nice when she's waking me up,' he thought, opening his eyes and turning around to find a little girl, dressed in the same maid uniform that Belfast wore.

**(AN: Bel-Chan)**

"Hello there," he said, calmly "and who might you be dear?"

"Master, it's me Belfast," said the little girl

"Are you Belfast's little sister?"

"No master," she said, determined to prove who she was "It's me, Belfast. I train with you everyday."

As he was about to say something, he heard someone shouting for him outside. The two waited as the voice grew louder and louder until a young Enterprise dashed into the room.

"Commander big trouble," said the young girl "I suddenly woke up and found that I suddenly became younger."

"Wait, what now?"

**0000000000**

He honestly had to pinch himself ten times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. This was the sort of scenario he imagined only happened in movies and anime.

As he walked out of the headquarters, Belfast holding his hand and Enterprise seated comfortably on his shoulder, he saw that everyone on the base turned into little girls. Oklahoma and Nevada were drawing on the ground, Phoenix, California and Tennessee were throwing water balloons at Brooklyn and Lexington, and Hornet had apparently built herself a throne and was now ordering Ranger and Pennsylvania around.

"Master, what do we do?" asked Belfast

"I honestly have no idea," he said, still not believing what he was seeing.

"This is a rather confusing way to start the day isn't it?" asked a voice from behind.

The trio turned around and the Commander saw a fully grown Z23, scratching her chin, looking just as confused as he was.

"Wait a second," he said, pointing to her "how did you grow up suddenly?"

"Beats me, I suddenly woke up and here I am all grown up."

'Just when I was starting to make sense of things,' he thought.

At that moment, he noticed one of the kids had come up to him. She had flowing brown hair, a set of bushy tails and a pair of ears sticking out of her head.

"Up," said Akagi, extending her hands out "Akagi wants to go up too."

Seeing as he had no other choice, the Commander reached down, picked up Akagi and put him on his other shoulder.

"Why is the stupid fox here?" shouted Enterprise, pointing an accusatory finger at Akagi.

"Tch, go bother someone else stupid eagle," said Akagi.

"Stupid fox"

"Stupid eagle"

"If you two don't stop fighting I'm putting you both down right now," he interjected and the pair became quiet instantly.

"At least we know someone here has a handle on things," said a familiar voice.

The group turned around and saw a young Yorktown coming towards them, carried by a grown-up Juneau, Spencer, Fletcher, Raleigh, Foote, Gridley, Thatcher, Aulick and Unicorn.

"Good morning Commander," said Juneau with a polite bow "you're doing well, in light of everything that's happened."

"Still trying to wrap my head around things," he said, examining all the women.

"Waaahh the Commander's got this weird look in his eyes," cried Spencer, hiding behind Raleigh.

"Commander we have some news," said Yorktown "this stemmed from an experiment Purin and Buri were conducting into wisdom cubes."

"Go on," he said.

"As a result of the experiment, all the adults have regressed into children and all the children and young adults have grown up."

"But you're talking pretty mature for a kid Yorktown," he pointed out.

"She always talked like that," said Enterprise "Yorktown was very mature from a young age."

"I see and what's the extent of the damage here?"

"It seemed like this incident is only contained to the Island"

"And how long will this last? It'd be really worrying if we're caught by an enemy attack."

"I believe that they'll have everything fixed by tonight," said Yorktown, recalling her earlier conversation.

"Then for now we'll have to work together to keep these kids from running off and causing all sorts of trouble."

"W-We?" asked Foote, raising her hand up.

"Yep," he said turning to Z23 "Z, gather up all the kids and bring them to the beach. There we'll divide them into groups for each of the girls to look after."

"Wait, why me?" she asked.

"Because you're pretty scary as my secretary."

"What?"

"There see, bring that scariness with you when you're gathering the kids."

Just then the Commander was hit in the face by a young Cleveland, swinging along the vine of a plant. He would have been knocked down, had Z23 not quickly reacted and pushed him back to his feet.

"Quickly my loyal horse," said Cleveland, standing on the Commander's shoulders and pointing to the beach "the thieves are running away with the treasure."

**000000000000000**

The Commander's plan was a sound one in theory. Divide the work equally among those who are capable and that made the work easier overall.

In practice however, this plan proved difficult to accomplish. Since the fleet on the island had regressed in age and maturity, they were less careful with keeping secrets and openly expressed how much they'd like to play with the Commander instead of anyone else.

This resulted in him being pulled in a number of directions and playing at least three different games at once. The group of women that accompanied him tried their best to help him as much as possible, but their lack of knowledge in dealing with children and the kids being impossible to control if they were handled by anyone else, meant that the task of playing with them fell solely on the Commander's shoulders.

For a while, he thought he had the kids under control. Then he sat down to take a moment of rest. This provided Eugen the opportunity to sit in-between his legs and smugly remark to everyone that she had the best seat on the island. This resulted in nearly everyone fighting over who could take up the available space the Commander had. There was hair pulling, tickling and all other forms of playground fighting taking place all at once. The competition only ended when the Commander had no other choice but get up, seeing as he was not going to get a moment of relaxation.

He was honestly glad none of them could use their weapons.

While he was busy trying to keep the pace and keep from being pulled apart, Yorktown and her group were at the cafeteria working on lunch. Yorktown understood that if the girls were this rowdy on normal, they'd be impossible to handle if they were hungry.

Soon enough it was time for lunch.

As some of the girls were quietly eating, he noticed Enterprise grimace at her plate.

"Something the matter?" he asked

"I don't like veggies," she said, looking away "they taste bad."

"But sister," said Hornet, "veggies make you strong and powerful."

"She's right about that," he added

"Still, I don't wanna eat 'em,"

"Alright, how about I feed it to you, will you eat it then?"

"Maybe."

He took the spoon and scooped up some veggies and potato mash into a single helping.

"Say aahhhh,"

Enterprise looked at the spoon then turned away. She looked again then turned. Finally she came forward and ate her food but quickly turned away.

"There see, didn't that taste good?"

"It was only good because you were the one feeding me."

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," cried Akagi, dropping her spoon.

"What happened?" he asked, leaving Enterprise and going to her.

"Commander the soups really hot," she said, while she kept fanning her mouth "can you blow it and cool it down for me?"

He didn't say anything. Instead he took a spoon full of soup, blew on it a couple of times and fed it to Akagi.

"Better?"

"Better," she replied, her tails swaying in agreement.

Although the day got off to a rocky start, he was able to quickly adapt to the circumstances. After lunch, the girls were less vibrant and active as they were before and it wasn't long before they settled down for an evening nap.

He too took the opportunity to rest for a moment, but when he woke up, he found that Eugen, Wales, Illustrious, Cleveland, Hornet, Enterprise, Belfast and Akagi had taken up residence around him.

Afternoon became evening and evening became night.

The girls didn't put up much trouble having dinner. The problem came when he had to put them all into bed, one at a time. Once that was done, he went by everyone's rooms, making sure they were all asleep before heading to his room.

After a long, shower, he changed into his clothes for the night and was about to go to sleep.

Then he heard a knock on the door.

Curious, he went to open it and saw Belfast standing outside, looking concerned.

"Is something wrong Belfast?"

"I was more worried about you Master," said Belfast "I thought that because it was raining outside, you might get scared and wouldn't be able to sleep properly."

Half of that statement was true.

"As your maid, I should make sure you sleep well and are ready for duty come tomorrow Commander," she added.

"So you want to come in?" he asked and she nodded.

He gestured for her to come inside and closed the door afterwards. He took another step forward and heard a second knock on the door. This time, he saw Eugen, Wales and Illustrious standing outside, looking scared.

"Commander," said Illustrious "I heard this very weird noise outside my window. I think there's a monster there. Can I stay here tonight?"

"My room doesn't feel that comfortable right now," said Eugen "So I'm staying here tonight."

"Your room feels a lot safer than mine Commander," said Wales.

"Say no more," he said and gestured for them to come inside before closing the door.

The Commander stared at the door for a good two minutes, expecting there to be a knock. When there was nothing, he thought it was over. He turned around, heard a knock and silently cursed himself.

When he opened the door, seeing Akagi and Enterprise standing outside the dimly lit corridor, he had nothing to say. The trio exchanged looks for a good half a minute. He knew what they wanted; they knew he knew what they wanted. There was no need to speak. He silently let them come in and then noticed that there wasn't enough space on the bed for all of them.

Thinking that this might continue all through the night, the Commander decided to head to the broadcast room.

"Attention all members of the fleet," he said, pressing the intercom "if at all you are feeling uncomfortable sleeping in your room tonight then you can come to the cafeteria. I've decided to sleep there tonight and if anyone wants to join me, they're welcome to.

**0000000000000000**

"You should have seen how quickly this place filled up," said Z23 to the Commander who had arrived along with a small train of girls following behind.

"By the way," he said, while the train broke up and started talking to the others present in the room "why are you and Yorktown's students here?"

"Um well…." Said Z23, trying to hide the fact that she too wanted to get in on this opportunity "wait, where's Enterprise and Akagi?"

"They're right here with the…"

**0000000000000000**

"I hope you're happy now Akagi, we're lost and its your fault," said Enterprise.

"My fault? You're the one who thought she saw a ghost and ran away."

"Then why'd you follow me?"

"Because if anything happened to you then the Commander'll be sad," she replied looking away "I don't want him to be sad."

Just then they heard the sound of thunder outside and the pair yelped in fright then tightly hugged each other.

"We should head back to the Commander's room," stated Enterprise.

"Agreed," said Akagi.

The pair turned around and bumped into a tall imposing figure. Given that it was late in the night, the lighting in the corridor was a pretty bad and the pair were visibly scared, the sight of a tall person did not help calm them down.

"AHHH it's a demon come to eat my soul," screamed Akagi, forming small spheres of fox fire and flung them at the 'demon.'

"You're not eating our souls evil demon," shouted Enterprise, looking like she was ready to fight.

"I'm not eating anyone's souls," said the Commander, stepping into the light so the pair could get a better view of him.

"Commander," the pair cried out, dashing towards him then scrambling up his body so that they sat on either of his shoulders.

"Didn't I tell you not to break the chain?" he asked.

"We're sorry," said the pair.

"Well anyway, we should head to the cafeteria."

**00000000000000000**

Enterprise let out a long yawn, stretching her arms out then slowly rose up. She blinked a few times, as it took her a moment to recall that she wasn't sleeping in her room, she was sleeping in the cafeteria with the rest of the fleet.

She rubbed her head a little, recalling the events of last night. It was only now she noticed that she had returned to her regular form. She quickly looked at everyone else in the room and found that the same thing had happened.

"Looks like things are back to normal," she said, letting out a sigh of relief.

She then turned to her right and saw the Commander sitting against the wall sound asleep.

Ever since Akagi made that overtly romantic pledge to the Commander, Enterprise had felt very jealous of her and sought to spend more time with him than before. As she did, she started feeling different around him, but could not understand why.

It was only when she was a kid and could fully express herself, she understood what those feelings were.

Seeing as everyone else was asleep, she slowly reached out to the Commander's hand. As she drew closer, her hand was batted away by Akagi, who was staring daggers at her.

If that wasn't enough, Akagi then proceeded to take the Commander's hand, only to be batted away by Enterprise.

The pair glared at each other and it stayed that way till one of them backed down.

Sensing the tension in the air, the Commander slowly opened his eyes to see what was going on. While he was glad that Enterprise and Akagi were back to normal, he was not glad to see they were back to fighting each other again.

He quietly closed his eyes, thinking that he'll deal with this mess a little later.


	18. Midnight Dance

**(AN: this FF has now surpassed my other works both in follows and favs. Thanks a whole lot to the community for appreciating this)**

Using the student exchange program as a template, the Commander instituted the idea of having one group of women head from the base to the Sakura Empire and vice versa. It would allow both sides to learn more about each other, promote team building and better interactions and dismiss the idea that they were two different sides.

After greeting the group of Kinu, Suruga, Takao, Yukikaze, Noshiro and Ryuuhou, the Commander headed back to his office to start his day with some paperwork. No doubt Z23 had a pile of work for him to go over and the quicker he went through that mess, the better.

"Commander," said Akagi, coming from outside the headquarters "are you heading to your office?"

Unlike how Akagi usually greeted him in a jovial, flirtatious manner, he noticed how muted she behaved. She only acted like that if there was something honestly important on her mind.

"Yeah," he said, "come with me."

She nodded and together, the pair headed to his office. Once inside, he took a seat on one of the chairs, while Akagi sat on the sofa. In the time he had come to know the leader, this was the first time he saw her looking nervous.

Instead of asking her outright, he remained silent, waiting for her to feel comfortable enough to tell him what she was thinking.

"Commander," she said, looking like she was about to speak but stopped.

"It's about the sirens," she said, looking down.

"What about them?"

"Are you going to tell the others about my deal with them?"

He paused for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. Sure, it'd be easy to act all high and mighty and judge her for siding with the enemy.

Dealing with the enemy to protect the people you loved- it was a tactic that was not uncommon where he came from and he couldn't fault her for it.

"No," he said, finally breaking the silence and surprising her in the process.

"Really?" she asked "but why?"

"For starters, there's no point in airing out dirty laundry like that. And it would only cause unnecessary tension right now. Secondly, I can't blame you for trying something desperate to protect the Sakura Empire."

"Thank you," she said, getting up and deeply bowing to him.

"There is something else I want to ask you about the alliance," he said "when you spoke to that Siren, did you manage to learn anything about them? Their hierarchy, size of their troops, any information."

Akagi paused for a moment, recollecting her interactions with the alien race. "I remember her saying that she was one of three leaders, but she never mentioned the other two names."

"What about their troops?"

"Sorry Commander, but no," she said, shaking her head.

"Well that's still information for us," he said, "there's more going on here than we first expected."

"How so?" she asked.

"Three people at the top Akagi," he said to her "you've interacted with Sirens longer than I have. Do you think they're the type that like to share power?"

She paused for a moment, letting the question sink in.

"No. But then that would mean…"

"You guessed it. There's a head honcho leading this group that hasn't revealed themselves yet."

"Should we be concerned Commander?"

"Being concerned and worried is my job," he replied "your job is to take it easy, relax and enjoy yourself until its time for an operation."

At that, Akagi smiled warmly at him.

"Right then, now that that's out of the way," he said, getting up "I should start my work."

"Wait let me help you," she said, getting up and going after him.

"What was that?" he asked turning around and accidentally bumping into Akagi, causing the two to fall down.

"Ow, ow, ow," he said, rubbing his head

'Whoa,' he thought upon noticing Akagi lying on top of him nervous and flustered 'she's got such expressive eyes.'

"Um, Akagi," he said "could you get off me please?"

"No," she said, sounding like her usual self "I like it here."

**00000000000000**

After having a hearty meal with her sisters, Enterprise decided to go outside for a walk. The cool night air and the sound of the waves brushing against the beach were soothing to hear. As she went past all the buildings, noticing how silent it had become, she noticed a figure standing near the beach.

Drawing closer and closer, she found that it was the Commander. At first she wanted to call out to him, but realized something. This scene was very similar to the steamy dream she had some time ago.

'No that isn't possible,' she thought 'I'm wearing my regular clothes and there's no table. This isn't a dream.'

"Hey Commander," she called out to him and he turned back to smile at her.

"Fancy seeing you here on this wonderfully quiet night," he said.

"I was just talking a little walk after the dinner my sisters and I had," she said, "what brought you outside Commander?"

"I had this weird dream where Unicorn's unicorn came to life," he replied, scratching his head "it did not like me."

Enterprise chuckled at the idea of him being chased around by a sentient toy unicorn, then thought a little about the Commander. Then she noticed that this was a rare opportunity she had. It was late at night so there were no interruptions. It was the two of them in a naturally romantic setting, but most importantly, there was no sneaky foxes to try and ruin the moment.

With that in mind, she came a little closer to him, which he didn't notice.

She then yawned out loud, putting one arm around him and resting her head on his.

"Enterprise," he said, noticing that she just tried the 'yawn' move on him "what are you doing?"

But Enterprise didn't answer, instead she drew closer and closer to him, her eyes closed. Being alone with the one you love with no interruptions in sight was a rare opportunity and one that Enterprise planned to capitalize on. She drew closer and closer to him, not hearing the whistling sound of cannon fire.

Suddenly, she was pulled forward and hurled to the ground, but before she could react, she heard the explosion and her mind connected the dots.

She was now being helped up by the Commander, who kept looking at the sky. Enterprise watched in horror as nearly half the sky was filled with Siren ships emerging through teleporters, with seemingly more and more on the way.

Their minds both shifting into crisis mode, Enterprise formed her bow, while the Commander headed back to back to sound the alarm.

"Don't do anything reckless," he called out, while running.

He burst into the headquarters then scrambled up the stairs to the communication room, wasting no time in sounding the alarm. He then turned on some of the machines, grabbed a headset and put it on, only to hear static.

'Damn,' he said, realizing what that meant.

He darted out the room and went to his office, where he grabbed his comm and sabre from the desk then rushed back outside.

"Attention everyone in the Coalition fleet," he said, marching towards the beach "this is a red alert, I repeat a red alert. I need everyone assembled on the beach ten minutes ago."

"Commander," said California "I'm at the Communications room."

"No point being there California," he said "they're jamming our signal."

"What the hell?" shouted Brooklyn "I didn't know the Sirens could do that."

"We can all gawk and admire the new tech later," he interjected "for now, I need everyone front and centre."

By the time he reached the beach, he saw Enterprise, Hornet and Cleveland attacking the Siren ships. He looked up and saw that no more were teleporting in, which was good on one hand. On the other, they were still outnumbered here.

He noticed Enterprise firing an arrow at one of the cruisers. The attack did indeed hit, but he noticed how the armor on the ship was only slightly damaged. Considering the amount of damage her shots were capable of inflicting on ships, it wasn't long before he reached a singular conclusion.

"Everyone," he said "they've reinforced their armor. Normal shots won't do as much damage as it did before."

"Commander, what do we do?" shouted Hornet, dodging a few shots but sounded desperate.

"Take a look at their cannons," he said, when they're about to fire, you'll see there's a three second delay. If you attack them during those few seconds, you'll ignite the ammo inside and do twice the damage."

"Commander that is an absurdly small opportunity," shouted Cleveland.

"It's a lot better than nothing," said Enterprise, taking his advice and firing at one of the Siren destroyer's cannons. She noticed how the explosion was twice the regular size.

'We're got numbers on our side but most of them are in the Sakura Empire,' he thought 'meanwhile the enemy has thirty cruisers, twenty destroyers ten battleships and ten aircraft carriers. We're dealing with an armada here.'

Realizing the size of the enemy he was facing, he felt a cold sweat running down his spine.

'You don't have time to be scared,' he thought to himself and dismissed any signs of fear that he had.

By now, the rest of the fleet had arrived on the beach and were immediately engaging the enemy armada. However, their scattered movements and disorganized patterns made it difficult for the fleet to counter attack.

"Akagi, Enterprise, Hornet, Wales, Eugen, Belfast, Illustrious and Cleveland," he said into his communicator, alerting them.

"Organize everyone here into teams and spread out. Staying here by the beach is only making you easy targets for them."

"Roger," said the group.

The numbers were not on their side. The enemy employed radio jammers to keep all communications from going out and were using higher grade armor than the other two times.

This wasn't one of those moments where a rag-tag group manage to overcome the odds and beat the enemy. He had to be realistic here, in order to win, they need help.

Which was why he was headed for one of the cafeteria/schools. Once inside, he made a beeline towards Yorktown's class, opening the door and calling out to her.

"Commander," said Yorktown, coming out from one of the corners, behind her were her class of Unicorn, Foote, Thatcher, Spencer, Fletcher, Raleigh and Aulick all huddled together and visibly worried.

"How are the kids?" he asked.

"They're scared, we all are," she replied "how bad is it out there?"

He was about to answer when a stray shell hit the building causing the whole structure to shake violently. Both Yorktown and the Commander crashed into one of the walls as a result of the violent shaking.

"Yorktown, you need to get the kids and take them to the Sakura Empire," he said, getting to his feet and helping her up.

"Get there, get Kaga and tell her to bring everyone she's got," he added.

"Go, now," he said, turning to the door.

"Commander," called out Unicorn "we can help too."

"No," he said, nearing the door.

"But…."

"NO!" he shouted, frightening the kids.

"Commander," chided Yorktown.

Rather than go outside, he paused and turned to the kids. He bent down and looked directly at Unicorn.

"I'm glad that you want to help but we have everyone on the base fighting the sirens, which is why you all have a different job."

Now he looked at the rest of the kids present.

"Ms. Yorktown here can't fight like the rest of us, so I need you all to protect her while she goes to the Sakura Empire. Can you do that for me?"

They all nodded.

"Commander," said Unicorn, tightly holding his hand.

"Don't worry," he said, smiling gently at her.

As much as he tried reassuring her, both Unicorn and Commander both knew it was just lip-service. In combat, the first objective is to make sure those who couldn't fight were as far away from the battlefield as possible. While the argument could me made that the kids and Yorktown could be used to fight, given the difference in power between the two sides, it'd be equivalent to sending lambs to the slaughterhouse.

At least this way, he was ensuring some of them were safe.

"I'll especially need you to be brave for me Unicorn," he said "everyone here might panic and get scared with everything that's going on. When that happens, I need you to calm them down and keep them safe. Can you do that for me?"

It was here that Unicorn displayed her maturity as although she was scared and worried, she nodded to the request.

"Good girl," he said, patting her head then standing up.

"Don't worry," said Yorktown, as she opened up a window in the room "I won't let anything happen to them Commander."

The Commander nodded and watched her help the kids out the window first then finally go out. When he was sure they had run far enough, he ran outside the building as fast as he could.

**0000000000000000**

The sounds of shells whistling in the distance, the explosions that made the ground shake and rattle, the clouds of smoke rising high enough they obscured the moon from view. She remembered it, she remembered it well.

Midway during the first war, Yorktown was part of a small infiltration group that went behind enemy lines in order to attack a Siren base. Due to a mistake from one of the teammates their position was discovered and the team was set upon from all sides. Their leader, Warsprite single handedly carved her way through Siren forces and gave the team the chance to escape.

Although they survived, Yorktown sustained severe damage to her weapon parts, effectively making her unfit to battle.

As they drew further and further away from the fighting, Yorktown occasionally looked back to the besieged base, thinking to herself how badly she wanted to fight. Her sisters, her friends and even the weakest person in their world were all on the frontlines risking their lives and her she was running in the opposite direction.

'Please hold on,' she thought, praying to whoever was listening "please hold on till I get back."

In that moment, the group heard the sound of a shell sailing through the air. The problem was that the shot was not aimed for any building on the base, it was aimed at them.

The kids and Yorktown were sent flying in all directions from the shot and it took them a moment to get to their feet.

"Kids, kids," she called out "follow the sound of my voice."

"Wow you're really making my job easy," said an unfamiliar voice.

She did not turn around quick enough and paid for it by being hit in the chest by a close-range shot, sending her crashing back through a few trees.

"When I was told to wait here in case someone tries to make a run for it, I thought I was going to have to watch as everyone else hogs all the fun."

Yorktown watched in horror as a yellow-eyed, pale skinned woman step into view, licking her lips like a predator.

"Well," she said, looking at her and the others "looks like I'll have some fun too."

**0000000000000**

Running towards the beach, the Commander heard the sound of cannon fire followed by a shell landing a few feet near him. It hit the ground and sent out shrapnel in all directions, some of which hit him in the chest and right leg.

"Just a little further and they'd be picking pieces of you off the wall," said a voice in a taunting way.

When he heard the woman speak, he froze for a moment, his mind trying to reason that it was pure coincidence.

Yet as the Siren made her way into view, displaying a metallic right arm where her original one used to be and smiling a smile that could make your skin crawl, he confirmed it.

'It's her,' he thought, gritting his teeth, his blood boiling at the sight of the Siren in front of him.

"You," he said, barely holding in his anger and rage "you're the one who killed Hood."

"And now I'm here to finish what I started," she said, forming her weapons.

Logic and reason took a back seat. Calm, rational thinking gave way to white hot rage and fury.

As the Commander drew out his sabre, the only thing in his mind was making this alien scream and beg for her life.


	19. A moment of Courage

One of the important requirements to adapting to a new surrounding is understanding the people around you and adjusting yourself to this new environment and the people that inhabit it. This is especially true in situations where the natives are dramatically stronger than you.

Learning the extent of their power and durability became the secondary objective the Commander made for himself during his training sessions which Belfast, an activity where Belfast challenged herself with trying to knock him on his ass as many times as possible.

As a result of the punishment she dished out on a regular basis, he was able to understand the following characteristics about the women of this world. Firstly, they weigh about as much as humans do, this was why he was able to carry Hood and Z23 with no trouble at all and how he managed to throw Hornet into a column during their first encounter. But this was about the only similarity shared between the two species.

Secondly, when it came to their attack and defense, everyone in this world favored attack over defense. The remark he once made to Overseer Alpha about the girls here being able to destroy a three storey building was a little exaggeration but it did not detract from the fact that when everyone here hit, they hit hard. If there ever was any doubt that Hornet's strength was a fluke, his sessions with Belfast proved that everyone here could pack a very mean punch. This adherence to an offensive approach ensured that if there was someone who favored defense and evasion, then they'd have some advantage over their opponents.

The best way to understand this approach comes from certain games, wherein a considerably weak character could defeat a much stronger opponent by attacking for a moment then moving back and evading till an opening presents itself.

The third and most important observation he made was that the metal that was used to forge the sabres, swords, katanas and knives that were wielded by some of the women was made of a strong but incredibly rare metal in this world. The metal was able to absorb some of the force of a powerful strike, allowing the user the opportunity the chance to counter. Of course, the weapons were not the preferred choice for combat when compared to the weapons the women here wielded. While they weren't all that important to them, it made all the difference to one person in particular.

Ducking and sidestepping the artillery as he approached the Siren, he initially wanted to make her suffer. He was admittedly angry and allowed that train of thought to guide his initial strikes against the Siren. While he did land a number of cuts on her sides and arms, she only needed to knock him through three trees just once for the scale of victory to tip in her favor.

While he was busy picking off pieces of glass from his side and his face, he realized the importance of keeping his calm on the battlefield. It was a rookie mistake he made and it was honestly good luck that he realized it now instead of when he was one step away from dying.

"You're fighting me on your own?" asked the Siren, menacingly floating in the air and grimacing at the pile of rubble he was sent into "you sure have gotten arrogant since our last encounter."

"Nah, nothing like that," he said, emerging from the rubble "it's just that you're so low on the food chain, I don't want to waste anyone else's time. Sorry, but this is one of those times where having the leader's attention isn't a compliment but an insult."

Any soldier would tell you the idea of not having emotions on the battlefield is an impossible ideal. Of course, there will be emotions as humans are a species that feels. So, if you are being clouded by your emotions, how do you level the playing field?

Simple, you could their mind as well, as demonstrated by the Commander's insult having the desired effect in causing the Siren to yell angrily at him and recklessly charge at him.

When she was close enough, the Siren fired a few shots at him but he dodged the attack by taking a step to the side. The Siren leapt into the air, firing at him but he was able to dodge his way through the barrage. When she landed, he was only a few feet away from her and before she could retaliate, he landed a cut across her chest. The Siren screamed in pain and attacked with a swinging kick but he ducked down, grabbed her foot and flung her into some of the rubble.

"Damn you stupid otherworlder," she yelled, emerging out of the wreckage in no time flat and attacking him as many times as she could. The training he had with Belfast and adapting to her speed paid dividends as he was able to calculate where the shot would land and avoid it completely. When the distance between them was close enough, the Commander attacked with a downward slash, only this time, the Siren was able to grab the blade with her two hands.

"Heh, now let's see how tough you are without it," she said, smirking at him followed by her snapping the blade in half.

Surprised and shocked at how easily she broke a supposedly strong metal with little effort, he quickly recovered and rammed the part of the sabre he was holding onto, right into the Siren's chest. As the Siren screamed in pain, he quickly grabbed the blade she broke off and dug it into her neck. This time, the Siren was able to ignore the pain and land a kick on the Commander's chest which sent him crashing into the ground.

"Stupid insect," she yelled, yanking the piece of metal out of her neck and tossing it aside. "I'll make you pay dearly for that." The Siren was about to attack, but was hampered by a sudden barrage of fire from her right flank.

"The hell?" he wondered, thinking that he did everything possible not to inform anyone that he was facing a Siren.

"Hey," shouted a voice from the side, making both of them turn towards the source. The Siren turned and was hit by another barrage of artillery fire.

"Did you really think I'd let you face that damned Siren on your own?" shouted Z23, all the while stomping towards the Commander, the latter of whom had his foot caught under some rubble.

Demonstrating how angry she was, she casually grabbed the piece of rubble and flung it aside like it were a piece of paper.

"Idiot," she said, glaring daggers at him.

"See this is why I kept my mouth shut," he said, tapping the dust off his feet "you're far too close to this."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because I didn't get these cuts and bruises from standing around. Siren's got a lot more bite to her than last time."

"All the more reason we take her down together."

"Hey you, stupid couple," shouted the Siren "don't take your eyes off the enemy."

She ran towards them and when she was close enough leapt forward with a kick aimed at both of them. Unfortunately for the Siren, the pair saw the attack coming as Z23 grabbed her foot and the Commander tilted his body back, avoiding the attack and grabbing her other foot.

Before the Siren could react, the pair rammed her into the ground, not one, not twice but three times, each one more painful than the last. Just when it looked like they were about to throw her one more time, Z23 let go of her grasp on the Siren, ran up the Commander's back, jumped off and when in the air, she let loose a hellacious barrage of cannon fire on the enemy.

"You hold me back if I go crazy," said the Commander to her, just as she landed next to him.

"And you hold me back if I go crazy," said Z23 to him.

"Oh and one more thing," said the pair together as they turned to the downed Siren.

"We're not a couple," the added, intending to dismiss any claims of there being any relationship between the two that went beyond the professional. However, given how well they pulled off that team attack and how perfectly they spoke in unison, their statement did not have the effect it intended.

**00000000000000**

Columbia held one hand and Monteplier held the other hand. Together, the pair launched Glowworm head first into the side of one of the Siren ships. The attack had the intended effect as Glowworm barreled through the ship's armor and emerged from the other side, where Cleveland was ready to catch her.

"I can…. Keep going~" asked Glowworm, her head still swirling from the whole process.

"Relax Glow," said Cleveland "you've done enough."

"And you two," she shouted at Columbia and Monteplier "why are you literally throwing our friends at the enemy?"

"Glowworm's got a pretty hard head," suggested Columbia.

"We thought we may as well take advantage of it," added Monteplier.

"Is there any word on our reinforcements?" barked Akagi through the communicator.

"We still haven't managed to locate their jamming ship," replied Enterprise.

"What about Z23?" asked Eugen.

"She said she heard something from the Commander's location," replied Illustrious, sending out a few dive bombers against the ships, with minimal damage being caused.

"For now, we need to do our job and let Z23 do hers," stated Enterprise.

"Everyone," declared Belfast "pick a target and keep hitting it till it sinks."

At that idea, both Denver and Monteplier raised their hands up, no doubt hit by a bout of inspiration.

"We are not throwing Glowworm at them," shouted Cleveland, effectively dismissing the idea.

One of the biggest problems that the inhabitants of this world dealt with was the lack of any organization or strategy used when facing an opponent. Sure, there were those who'd have a different approach to the norm, but people like that were few and far between. This meant that the only strategy factions opted for was to simply throw all that they had against the enemy, hoping that numbers would give them the advantage.

This was one of the reasons why someone like the Commander proved an effective tool on the battlefield. His ability to accurately predict the flow of a battle and position soldiers in just the right places was a sign of how he could utilize each one's skills to their fullest. The best example of this would be their recent battle with the Sakura Empire. The Coalition were outnumbered and outgunned, yet they prevailed thanks to the timely usage of a second fleet that allowed the first fleet the time they needed to counter.

As such, the absence of his foresight left a hole in the fleet's effectiveness and it was a gap that needed to be filled quickly.

'There's still nothing from him,' she thought, 'could he be trying to form a plan? No, he's able to come up with ideas on the fly. Damn it, did they send a small force to take him out as well?'

**000000000000000**

When he was close enough, he grabbed his cape and flung it at the Siren, blinding her. In that moment, Z23 grabbed her by the head and rammed her into the ground. The Siren got to her feet and went for a sweeping kick at Z23 but the girl reacted faster. She extended her hand back and was grabbed by the Commander who spun her around and threw her into the Siren, allowing Z23 the chance to land a double kick on their enemy's chest.

The Siren skidded back and fired at the pair, stopping Z23 from moving but the Commander was quicker. She could see him running towards her and prepared to retaliate. What she did not expect was him suddenly going in for a slide. That moment of surprise and shock allowed him to knock her off her feet Z23 used that chance to attack with another kick but this time, the Siren was ready for her and grabbed her foot, while still in the air.

The Commander rolled away just in time, avoiding a kick that would have caved his head in. When he got up, he saw Z23 being flung towards him by the Siren. Although he was ready to catch her, the force at which she came towards him sent the pair crashing through a building.

The Commander groaned in a little, trying to keep from collapsing. He tried getting up but felt a sudden and sharp pain on his side. That was when he noticed the piece of metal sticking out his side.

"Hey, Commander," groaned Z23, "you still alive there?"

"Still kicking, how about you?"

He noticed Z23 rise up from a pile of rubble, holding her wounded right arm. There was also the cut on her head that was slowly but certainly impairing her vision.

"We're really outclassed here aren't we?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's about as strong as a battleship," she replied.

"We can't draw this fight out any longer," he said, noticing the gunfire and explosions in the distance "I need to get a handle on things over there."

"To do that we're going to need to end her. Got any plans?"

"I might," he said and the pair shook off the dust on their bodies and left the building.

"Hmph, so you two are still alive?" asked the Siren.

"Sorry about that," he said, apologetically "looks like we'll be keeping you busy for a little while longer."

"Now follow my lead," he muttered to Z23, then broke into a run.

The Siren fired at him trying to get a lock on him but he kept moving from side to side, making it impossible to be targeted. As he got closer, he failed to notice the piece of rubble sticking out of the ground like a sore thumb. As such he ran into the thing which knocked him off balance and sent him crashing into the ground.

"You damned idiot," shouted Z23, running towards the Siren in an effort to keep her from attacking the downed Commander. She drew in close and attacked the Siren with a few shots before attacking with a high kick. The attack did not land as the Siren predicted she would do this and held her hand up to block her.

"You really need to try something new," she said, staring her opponent down.

"That's why I have a good partner."

The Siren now noticed the Commander in the air coming down on her. At first, she thought it made no sense to do something like that. The difference in power between them was staggering. Even his best punch could barely register to her so it was pure stupidity to attack her head on.

But as he drew closer, she noticed something shining in his hand. That was when she realized his trip wasn't on purpose, it was done so that Z23 would attack and allow him to find one half of his broken sabre.

"See that's the thing about teammates," said Z23, punching the Siren in the gut and quickly retrieving the other piece of the sabre near her "you really need to keep your eyes on both of us."

The Commander swung down, Z23 swung up. The conclusion was decided in an instant. They saw a pair of red lines forming on the Siren's body but turned around and walked away. They knew she was dead, but did not have any time to gloat right now.

**0000000000000000**

Unicorn bounced back a couple of times before skidding to the ground and coming to a stop.

"Unicorn," shouted Fletcher, turning to her.

"Now that isn't nice," mused the Siren, kicking Fletcher on her side and sending her crashing into the trees.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to keep your eyes off your opponent?" asked the Siren, now turning towards Spencer, who took a step back in fear.

"Please stop hurting them," shouted Yorktown coming in between the Siren and Spencer "they're just kids, they're not a threat to you at all."

"See that's where you're wrong miss," said the Siren, glaring at her "everyone in this world is an enemy to us."

"It doesn't matter if you're young or old, we won't stop until all of you are wiped out from the planet."

The Siren was about to attack but was shot at by Aulick and Foote.

"Ms. Yorktown," they shouted "get away from there."

But Yorktown had little time to react as the Siren shoved her aside like she was nothing.

"You little worms," she yelled, firing her cannons at both Aulick and Foote. The pair were sent high in the sky before crashing down with heavy thuds.

Meanwhile, Spencer, who had managed to hide behind some trees tried calling out to some of her friends.

"No," she whispered, trembling in fear upon seeing that they were either badly hurt or knocked unconscious from the attack. She saw the Siren now turning her attention to Yorktown. Spencer was frozen in fear, she wanted to attack the alien but her body wouldn't respond to her.

'Please,' she pleaded to herself 'please move, please let me fight.'

"Hah, you're even weaker than I thought," said the Siren, picking up Yorktown by her hair. The captor tried her best to break free from the Siren's grasp, only to have a fist crash into her face.

"Ms. Yorktown," shouted Spencer, but the Siren continued attacking Yorktown, this time with punches to the gut.

When faced with a confrontation greater than itself, any living thing will be afraid. It is the body's natural response meant to get the person as far away from the threat as possible in order to succeed. Fear is caused by the body's own act of self-preservation.

However, there are times when a living thing is confronted by something greater than itself, it will experience another emotion far stronger than fear.

And that emotion is courage.

Seeing her friends hurt, seeing her teacher being brutalized by the alien was too much for her. Spencer formed her weapons and fired them at the Siren, aiming for the head. The projectiles hit the Siren and sent her flying back, putting some much-needed distance between her and Yorktown.

The Siren quickly got to her feet, only to have Unicorn fire a barrage of airplanes at her and allowing Foote, Thatcher and Fletcher land multiple blows on her body with their cannons.

"I'll distract her," said Unicorn, standing next to Spencer "you hit her whenever you see any openings."

Spencer nodded and together, the two fired continuously at the Siren, pushing her further and further away from Yorktown.

But the difference in power between the two forces presented itself when the Siren fired one shot from her cannon. Although it didn't hit the two of them and landed nearby, it sent a large helping of shrapnel into Unicorn's left arm, causing her to halt her attack.

This provided the Siren with the chance to charge forward and grab Spencer then ram her into the ground.

"Well, how's that?" she asked as she continued punching the youth "how does it feel being pounded into the ground?"

"Spencer," shouted Thatcher as she tried shooting at the Siren, only to be kicked into one of the trees.

Meanwhile Yorktown, struggled to her feet, using a nearby tree to help hold her up.

'I have to fight,' she thought watching her students get picked apart by the vicious Siren.

'He trusted them to me,' she thought, desperately trying to form her weapons 'I have to fight, I have to protect them.'

But as much as she prayed to be strong enough, there was no answer. Her injuries made it impossible for her to form her weapons and all she could do was watch helplessly in despair.

As the Siren was about to land the final strike on a battered and bloodied Spencer, Unicorn kicked her from behind, causing her to lose balance. In that moment, she quickly came forward, grabbed Spencer and threw her to Yorktown.

"Everyone," she shouted to the others "you need to run."

"What?"

"Run now. Get to the Sakura Empire and get their help. I'll protect you till then," she replied, standing between the Siren and her friends.

"Bold words kid," said the Siren shooting at Unicorn but the girl remained where she stood "I'll carve it into your tombstone."

"Unicorn no," shouted Fletcher, running towards her.

"It's alright," she said as more and more shells were lobbed at her "I've died before, it doesn't hurt all that much."

"Please," she said, turning to them, tears slowly trickling down her wounded face "please run, while you still can."

"No Unicorn," said Yorktown, her legs struggling to keep her up "you can't stay behind. You can't hold her back."

As she tried to come forward, she found that she couldn't. Yorktown looked down and saw Aulick, Fletcher, Thatcher, Foote and the others holding her back.

"Please Miss," said Aulick, who was crying just as much as everyone else "please, we have to go."

'Big bro,' thought Unicorn as the pain of the Siren's attacks started to get the better of her. 'I wanted to spend more time with you. I wanted…. to go on more picnics….. read more books…. I wanted to play more…. I'm so sorry big bro.'

"It's over," shouted the Siren, firing at her one last time.

"UNICORN," yelled Yorktown as the little girl was engulfed by the explosion. All she could do was watch in horror as a young girl's life was mercilessly ended by the vicious Sirens.

Or at least that's what it looked like.

"Huh?" said the Siren, noticing something.

As the smoke around the explosion cleared, Yorktown, the Siren and everyone else noticed that although the attack did land, Unicorn wasn't killed by the explosion. In fact, she was alive as a result of a new an unfamiliar face that had suddenly entered the battlefield.

Yorktown noted how the woman was dressed in traditional Sakura Empire armor, wielded a sword and had a pair of horns protruding from the head.

"You did well, brave warrior," she said, holding onto an unconscious Unicorn.

"You put your life on the line to protect your friends, risking everything to create a moment of courage that has greatly changed the course of this fight."

"Rest now," she said, placing the little girl against a tree "and know that I will carry on your fight."

Seeing her back turned, the Siren fired a shot at the woman, only to have the target turn around and with her sword, slice the projectile in half.

"Apologies," she said, turning to her "I wasn't paying attention to you just now and that was rude of me. Don't worry though, I won't make the same mistake again."

"There you go making a big show of things but you're forgetting something important," said another girl, appearing beside Yorktown, much to the latter's shock.

Yorktown watched in silence as the second new entrant, with different colored eyes came before her, bent down and gently placed her hands on some of the kids heads.

"You all went above and beyond the call of duty to protect what you cared about. It is an honor to fight in the same fleet as you," she said, smiling warmly at them.

"Miss," she said, turning to Yorktown "can you walk?"

"A little," she replied.

"Good," said the girl "run back to the base as quickly as you can. We'll take care of this."

**000000000000000**

"Dear me," said a girl holding a trident in one hand "it looks like we took a little too long getting dressed."

"Speak for yourself," said a woman holding an abnormally long, ornate spear "I for one do not wish to greet my lord wearing only my birthday suit."

"Guys," said a red-haired woman from further away "try to remember that he can also hear our conversation, right Commander?"

"UHHHHHHHH," said the man in question, unable to figure out who was speaking to him.

"Hey now Commander," said the red-haired woman "it's not nice to be silent when someone asks you a question."

"That's alright," said a pink-haired woman, standing next to the Commander, much to the shock of Z23 "he's just so enamored by our arrival, he can't say anything."

"Commander," said Enterprise through the communicator "all of a sudden we're picking up six very powerful ships on the island, what's going on?"

The more he stared at the new girl, the faster the dots connected. He remembered seeing her just once, only when he did, she was in floating inside a tube, far below the base.

"They woke up," he said "Izumo, Ibuki, Neptune, Saint. Louis, Monarch and Roon: the priority class ships have woken up."


	20. Game Changers

"Commander," said Z23, "what's going on?"

"That's not what's important right now," said Roon, turning to her and answering instead of the Commander.

"What is important is you need to go back to the fleet and help them. I'll take care of the Commander," she added.

"Bu…"

"She's right," he said, looking in the direction of the two fleets "I don't know how strong the Priority Class are and it'd be bad to rely solely on their power."

"Go, Z," he said, looking at her "Roon will look after me."

There were far too many questions running through Z23's mind, most of which revolved around this new group of ships and whether or not they can be trusted. However, what the Commander said was true, now that the Siren who killed Hood was on her way to becoming worm food, her presence was no longer needed.

Rather than stand around and debating, Z23 ran towards the beach, intent on finishing the mission.

"Commander," said Ibuki "I'm sending Miss Yorktown back to the base along with the children."

"Some of them are hurt really bad," added Izumo "they need medical attention right away."

**00000000000000**

"'Priority Class?'" repeated Enterprise, unsure of what she just heard "Commander, what class is that?"

"Observe comrade," said Monarch, training her cannons on some of the Siren destroyers and Cruisers. She fired a barrage of projectiles, equal to three battleships and sent all her targets crashing into the ocean.

At the sight of this, nearly half the Coalition fleet was stunned speechless, stopping their attack and standing in their place, mouths hanging open in shock.

"Commander," shouted Hornet "did you see that? She just brought down three ships…. On her own…. how?"

"Yeah sorry Hornet," said the Commander "I've got my own problems here."

The problem he was referring to was the small fleet of Siren ships that were hovering over him. Considering the timing of the ship's arrival, it looked like they were a back up plan in case the Siren that attacked him failed to finish her mission.

"They're really trying to finish me off," he muttered, looking at the ships.

"Roon," he said, grabbing her head "I don't like our chances here. Let's head to Ibuki and Izumo. The three of you should be strong enough to the Siren forces."

He tried running in the direction where Yorktown, the kids and the two new ships were, but found that he was not moving. It was then he noticed that the reason behind this was due to Roon standing still.

"Roon?" he asked, looking concerned for her.

"….insects,"

"Here I was, enjoying this alone time with my dear Commander," she said, shaking free of his grasp as she walked towards the ships.

'Why am I getting scared all of a sudden?' he thought.

"And then you annoying insects decided to come in the middle and ruin everything for me," she said, as a pair of ships formed beside her. However, unlike other weapons, the front of these ships could open and close, making it look like they were giant mouths, lined with very sharp and very jagged teeth.

"You dare to come between me and my Commander?" she said, pointing her weapons at the Sirens "know your place."

As much as the Commander tried to roll with things and not ask questions, there were a number of times in this world where he was genuinely shocked by what he saw. First was when Hood and Z23 formed their weapons, second was meeting Akashi and petting her cat ears and third was seeing Roon fire two laser beams from her ships carving through three of the seven Siren ships that came for him.

"Sweet tap-dancing Jesus!" he exclaimed at the sight "lasers. Roon you have lasers?"

"Of course, I do," she replied, turning towards him.

"Don't worry Commander," she said, smiling at him (while at the same time invoking the unholy energy Yuno Gasai did at the end of episode 1) "I'll protect you."

Although her intentions were pure and true, her expression, the sudden showing of power and the tone in which she declared that she'd keep him safe had the opposite effect on the Commander, who was now sweating buckets.

"Commander," shouted Enterprise "Commander say something."

"Ah crap that's right," he said, snapping out of his daze.

"Roon take care of these ships, I'm heading to the beach now."

He didn't have time to hear her response. Instead, he made a bee-line to the beach, all the while avoiding any stray shots that came his way.

"Enterprise, Hornet, Wales," he said, while leaping over some rubble "Target their aircraft carriers, we need to get our planes in the sky and take over the air."

"But Commander their ships are reinforced," stated Wales "the three of us alone will not be enough to destroy even one ship."

"You can if you aim where I tell you," he said "you need to hit the deck of the ships."

"What?" asked Hornet.

"The deck of aircraft carriers have to be a certain surface or else the planes can't take off," he elaborated, nearly tripping over a rock "their deck won't have the same reinforced armor like the rest of the ship."

The trio looked at each other, then turned to Enterprise who nodded. She drew her bow aiming at one of the carriers. She released the string and watched as the arrow sailed through the sky then arced down, hitting the deck of the ship. Unlike before where he attacks only had a small degree of damage, this one had the intended effect.

"Whoa," said Neptune "that was a pretty good shot."

"Focus on your enemies," chided Saint. Louis.

"Alright fleet," he said, nearing the beach "Enterprise, Hornet, Pensacola, Ranger, Saratoga, Lexington, Akagi, Illustrious, Long Island and Pennsylvania. Form a line and take out their carriers. The rest of you, stick to your teams and keep the Sirens at bay."

"Saint. Louis, Neptune, do not stray away from the fleet. Keep your eyes peeled for any enemy openings and don't do anything reckless."

"Roger," said the two of them.

He watched as the fleet reorganized themselves, with most of them sticking to a defensive pattern around the long-range attackers, while the latter hammered away at the Siren's aircraft carriers. The addition of Monarch, Saint. Louis and Neptune also provided the extra firepower the fleet needed to turn the tables.

Even from a distance, the Commander could make out the two ships that were farthest from the fleet, understanding it was Saint. Louis and Neptune. He watched as one of them leapt into the sky and with their weapon, landed a wide cut on the side of a Siren destroyer. The girl then fired into the ship's exposed underside, landing numerous critical blows in the process.

"Oy," he said, "didn't I tell you two not to stray away from the fleet?"

"Apologies Commander," said Saint. Louis "I shall strive to not make the same mistake again."

"Sorry about that Commander," said Neptune with a light chuckle "guess I got a little too ahead of myself there."

"Please try not to hold it against them," said someone near him.

He turned and saw Monarch standing beside him. She gave him a casual wave and said "it's just that we all woke up and are pretty eager to impress you."

"Commander," said Illustrious "I'm noticing something strange in the enemy movement."

"Strange?"

"After we brought down the fifth aircraft carrier, I noticed that some of the ships were gathering around one ship. It's almost the same as what we're doing with Enterprise, Hornet and the others."

"Good eye Illustrious," he said.

"Attention fleet, thanks to Illustrious' help we've located the enemy flagship. Everyone, look for the one ship that's being protected by the others."

In response, the whole fleet noticed that one Battleship was much further back than the others.

"Commander," said Cleveland "I see it too."

"Good, all forces, aim for that ship. You take it down, the rest of them will scatter."

"Roger," they all said and charged towards the Battleship.

"Good work Commander," said Monarch "now with this over, we can all take a breather."

"Yeah," he said, watching the fleet draw closer to the target.

'Wait,' he thought 'why does this feel sketchy?'

'From the start of this attack, they've always been a step ahead of us. Attacking at night when there'd be a slower response time, blocking our communications to prevent reinforcements, having a team ready to catch any stragglers and sending a Siren to hunt me down.'

'All of this means that they thought things through before attacking. It wasn't the norm of simply using might to overwhelm the enemy. They planned this out step by step, so why reveal their hand now?'

"It's a trap," he said, color draining from his face.

"What?" asked Monarch.

"It's a trap," he repeated "everyone, disengage, disengage. Don not attack the Battleship, I repeat, do not attack the Battleship."

"Commander I don't understand," said Eugen "we take that ship down we win."

"You shoot that ship and you all die," he countered "disengage the attack run and head back to the island."

"but…"

"NOW!" he shouted. Considering the urgency in his voice, everyone thought it best not to question him right now and do as ordered.

"We're heading back Commander," said Hornet.

"Takao, Nevada, can you see my location on the island?"

"Yes," said the pair at once.

"Good, head to my location now. I'll tell you guys the plan in the meantime."

**000000000000000**

"Commander what you're asking is a pretty tough job," said Takao "even for me."

"Agreed," said Nevada "wouldn't it be better to ask Enterprise instead of us?"

"Enterprise doesn't have the same destructive power your shots have," he replied, turning to Monarch "you ready?"

"But of course," she replied and took her place alongside Takao and Nevada.

"I still think you're overthinking things Commander," said Akagi.

"Well if I am and this turns out be a mistake then we don't lose anything," he said "but if I'm wrong….."

Instead of finishing his sentence, he watched as Monarch provided the information about wind patterns and planetary rotation to Takao and Nevada. Then the trio formed their cannons and fired at the Battleship.

The trio, the fleet and he watched as the artillery hit the right target. What surprised nearly all of them was that when the attacks did land, the Battleship exploded with twice the force. It was a feat that was impossible to achieve, given the amount of artillery that struck it.

The only explanation came from the one the Commander gave them.

The point of the Siren attack was to separate the Commander from the fleet. Without him there, the fleet would find it difficult to hold their own against the Siren's fierce onslaught and would get desperate to find a way to end the fight.

When that happened, the Sirens would purposely reveal a 'flagship' to them, making it look like that was the leader. Given the situation and a lack of strategy, the fleet would pour as many forces as they could into a frontal assault and attack the ship. Doing so would cause the explosives placed inside the fake flagship to detonate, killing almost all of the attackers.

But the Siren forces did not count on the fleet's secret weapons which were the PR class of ships. With their arrival, it allowed the Commander the time he needed to see through the deception and turn the tables on them.

"He was right," said Akagi, watching the Battleship become engulfed by a giant fireball and shoot out multiple pieces of debris at the ships near it.

"Wait, for it," said Monarch, as she and everyone else saw how the ships reacted to their plan being found out.

Now that their fake flagship was taken out, the forces would panic, unintentionally revealing the actual leader of the attack.

Everyone on the beach and on the sea saw how the Siren ships were now gathering around the cruiser on the far-left side.

"Team," he said "you know what come's next."

In response everyone charged towards the Siren cruiser. He smiled quietly and watched as the fleet drew closer to the targeted ship. Although the other Siren ships tried shooting them to impede their progress, Akagi and her team kept a little distance from the fleet, giving them some cover fire.

"Kinu, Suruga, take out that cruiser. Yukikaze, with me. We're going after that destroyer," she said, ordering the others in her team to keep the Siren ships at bay.

He watched as the attacking fleet and their combined fire power took all of ten seconds to send the target cruiser crashing into the ocean.

"Neptune, Saint. Louis," he said "remember when I told you not to do anything reckless?"

"Yes Commander," they said in response.

"Forget I ever said that. Go crazy."

The fleet watched on as the two priority class ships displayed their power, carving their way through the cruisers, destroyers and battleships, with seemingly nothing that could stop them.

When Akashi gave him the brief about the six of them, he knew that they were powerful. But seeing them in action was a completely different story.

Among the few destroyers that remained, one aimed its cannons at Neptune, intent on stopping her. However, that attack did not come through as it was struck from the side by a burst of artillery fire.

"Akagi," shouted Kaga "we got word that the base came under fire. Sorry we took so long to get here."

"Your aid is still appreciated sister," said Akagi "Commander, what are you orders?"

"Kaga, you and your fleet attack the Sirens but don't pursue them. The rest of you head back to base."

With Neptune and Saint. Louis cutting down every enemy ship, being assisted by Kaga and her ships, the battle was over and they won.

Yet as he turned around and saw the base in shambles, multiple buildings razed and fires burning across the island, he wondered just how badly damaged they were by the Siren attack.

Still surveying the damage and wondering how to proceed next, his attention turned towards Roon, who started waving at him and jumping in an effort to get his attention.

While he was initially glad to see that she too had taken care of the Siren ships meant for him, upon closer inspection, he noticed the numerous blood stains on her face and clothes.

"Commander," she called out "I did pretty good right? Now let's continue where we left off."

He secretly prayed that the rest of the fleet got here sooner.


	21. Aftermath

**(AN: Since the last chapter, this fanfic has surpassed my DDLC story in views, reviews, subscribers and followers. Thank you very much to the community for showing your appreciation.)**

"Enterprise," he said, marching to her "gather a team and sort out the rest of the fleet based on severity of their injuries."

"Kaga," he said, turning to her "Once Enterprise is done, take the most severely injured to the second base."

"Akagi, you're on damage control "a lot of our buildings got hit from the attack. See which ones need repairs first and we'll work on them."

"Commander," shouted Yorktown, running to him.

He turned around, about to ask her what's wrong but no words escaped his mouth. Instead his attention went to the injured Spencer she was cradling in her arms and then to a weak and bloodied Unicorn, being carried by Foote and Raleigh.

"Take them to the hospital, now," he said then turned around "Roon, take Unicorn as well."

"You've got your assignments now get to it," he said turning to the others, who nodded in agreement.

"Commander," said Monarch looking worried reaching out and putting an arm on his shoulder.

"That's right," he said turning to her and then to Neptune and Saint. Louis "we still haven't done the oath ceremony."

"I think that for now," said Neptune "we can keep that as a low priority objective."

"Alright," he said, letting out a long sigh "for now, the three of you should meet up with Ibuki and Izumo. Once Roon gets back, patrol the island till its morning. You see anything Siren…"

"We send it to the bottom of the ocean," said Saint. Louis "as you wish, my lord."

He silently thought he'd need to work on Saint. Louis' was of addressing him. It was far too much of a formal title on top of the one he already had.

'Damn it, now's not the time for that,' he thought.

"I should get going," he said to them "lot of work to do for the next few days."

And the Commander was right. Although they did win, many members of the fleet were injured in the attack and needed medical attention. The most severe cases were Unicorn, Spencer, Brooklyn, Helena, Juneau, Portland and Indianapolis. Aside from the first two, the others were taken to the Sakura Empire, which was a lot safer than their current location.

Kaga sought to replace the injured soldiers on the base and after getting his approval, she brought Noshiro, Yukikaze, Shiranui, Kako, Aoba, Ryuuhou, Kinu, Ayanami, Shigure and Hatsuharu. This process took about two days to complete.

While the transfer was underway, the Commander was running around the hospital for four days straight, spending only two hours each day to dress his injuries and collect himself mentally. While Vestal was busy working on Unicorn and Spencer, Akashi was treating the other injured women and he was busy getting her whatever was required.

Five days after the Siren attack on the base.

Enterprise, Hornet, Illustrious, Belfast, Eugen, and Akagi gathered in the meeting room, each one taking a seat around the circular table. They noticed some of the empty chairs in the room but decided not to say anything for now.

There was silence in the room. Usually, it'd start with the Commander presenting the facts and progress the fleet had made then opened the floor to suggestions and ideas on how to proceed further. With that no longer there….

"Our oil and coin supply buildings were hit the hardest during the attack," said Akagi, taking the initiative "right now Cleveland's overseeing the repairs with an assigned team. Aside from that, the comms room, the cafeteria and the school took a few hits but they can be fixed up quickly."

"And what's the deal with these PR ships?" asked Hornet "they appeared during the battle and now we're supposed to accept they're part of the fleet?"

"For now, they're patrolling the area and helping with the repairs," said Belfast "plus it's not like we can ask them anything. I get the feeling they'll only listen to one person on the base."

At that, everyone became silent.

"Speaking of which," said Enterprise "where is the Commander?"

"He's been living in the hospital ever since the attack," replied Illustrious.

"Living is putting it mildly," said Hornet "I got a report from Phoenix before we came in."

"Ever since the attack, he's been doing the work of five people, running around the place and making sure to treat as many people as he could."

"So the Commander knows first aid?" asked Eugen.

"Not to the level where he'd be a qualified medic," replied Hornet "but enough that he can handle some of the less dangerous injuries."

"The problem is that he's been running himself ragged," she added "these past days he hasn't had a second of sleep, drinks about two or three cups of water a day and the only time I ever see him leave is to grab a sandwich from the makeshift cafeteria we set up outside the actual one."

"Basically, he's wearing himself thin," said Belfast.

"Wales volunteered to go talk some sense into him," stated Illustrious "but I fear he's won't listen to anything she says."

"He's probably blaming himself for what happened," said Enterprise "for what happened to us, for the damage to the base and for what happened to the kids."

"Isn't he taking on too much?" asked Eugen "Yes the Siren attack caught us off guard but its not like he was supposed to predict that would happen."

"Actually it is," said Akagi, surprising everyone "being a leader isn't about sitting on a throne and doling out orders to everyone, you have to be prepared for everything. You have to think about all scenarios, imagine the worst things happening and create solutions for that. That he didn't means that all of this falls on him and no one else."

"It's not like we're dead or anything," stated Hornet "some of us are hurt and some are badly injured. But we're all still alive."

"I doubt Unicorn and Spencer will agree with you on that," said Belfast.

"What happened to the two of them was….." said Hornet, clenching her fist "it was terrible. But let's not forget that they're fighters like the rest of us. They're all soldiers as well and just like us, they can fight too."

"By that logic we should be sending Yorktown into the fray as well," said Enterprise, glaring at her.

"What? No, I'd never send Yorktown into danger like that," objected Hornet.

"Why? Because she's your sister?"

"She's your sister as well."

"What Enterprise is trying to say that," said Illustrious, in an effort to diffuse the situation "although the children are capable of fighting, doesn't mean that we should be okay with letting them fight. Because if we do, then we should also send Yorktown into our battles against the Sirens."

"It's alright if we get hurt," said Enterprise "it's alright if anyone in this room or even the Commander gets hurt or shot or beaten because that's what happens when you take up the cause. When you become a soldier, you accept that at some point you are going to be injured."

"We're out there fighting so that they don't have to," she added "and I don't know about you but when one kid is beaten within an inch of her life and another was damn near ready to die to protect everyone else….. we've failed in our duty as soldiers."

Enterprise got up from her chair and headed to the door. Just as she was about to open it, she turned around and said "I try not to think about it too much. In fact, I do my best to push that thought as deep down as possible but, Unicorn was part of the group that answered his call."

As she left the room, the weight of her words hanging in the air, Akagi turned to Belfast and asked the meaning behind those words.

"Wales, Illustrious, Eugen, Enterprise and I were all dead," she replied "however, during his fight with Hornet, the Commander caused some reaction with a stash of wisdom cubes and brought us back to life. Unicorn was also part of that group that came back."

Akagi understood. She may not have said anything but her dark expression indicated that she understood what Belfast said. Unicorn, one of the youngest members of the fleet had already died and was about ready to die again if Ibuki and Izumo didn't arrive on time.

"Well this was a fun meeting," said Eugen sarcastically followed by her getting up "same time tomorrow?"

**0000000000000000**

He came out of another room, took off his glove and tossed it into the nearby bin. He leaned against the wall for all of five seconds then pushed himself off and dragged his half-awake corpse to the next room. It was late in the night on the fourth day and he was running on fumes and will-power alone.

'Willpower will get you to the finish line but good food and rest will get you through most of the race,' said his former Commander, the thought lingering in his mind but vanished soon afterwards. He still had to check up on everyone in the next room, write a report on Unicorn and Spencer's condition, check up on Vestal and Akashi, restock the inventory with plenty of supplies…. There was still so much to do.

His stomach had other plans in mind as it groaned out loud in protest.

"Oh shut up," he said, ignoring the cries of nourishment his body required. Despite Wales protesting multiple times that he had rest or get something to eat, the best she could do was force him to have a sandwich before he went off to continue his work.

After doing all of his and thinking about what to do next, he was slowly trudging his way through the corridor at night, he noticed one of the rooms were open. Curious, he looked inside and saw Yorktown inside, sitting upright in her bed, gazing out the window at the moon and the stars.

The scene was almost the same as when they first met.

"Hello Commander," she said, noticing him standing at the door.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," he said, shaking his head to not look all that tired.

"You're not interrupting," she said, smiling warmly at him "I was just thinking how nice it would be if I had a little company right now."

"I'm not exactly looking my best right now, but if you're okay with that then I could keep you company."

"That would be nice," she said and he dragged the one chair in the room towards Yorktown's bed.

"Its nights like this I'd often think about my younger days with Hornet and Enterprise," she said, looking at the sky then turning to him "if you look closely, some of them form shapes."

"How are you feeling?" she asked "I've noticed you running from hall to hall quite often."

"I'm fine, no problem," he replied, calmly "just doing my part."

He was about to ask her how she felt, but thought it best not to veer near that topic.

"I heard Spencer's and Unicorn's conditions have stabilized," she said, looking relieved "Vestal and Akashi must be working themselves to the bone right now."

"We all are," he said, "everyone's doing their part in this crisis."

"Except for me," she muttered, lowering her head.

"What?"

"When the Sirens attacked everyone went to fight. When the Sirens were defeated everyone came together and are getting things back to normal."

"Everyone except for me,"

"Yorktown you can't blame yourself for…"

"I tried," she said as tears started dropping from her eyes and falling down onto the sheets. He noticed her hands trembling and quietly reached out to her.

"I tried so hard Commander," she said, almost grabbing his hand in an effort to keep from trembling "I kept trying to form my weapons but nothing happened. All I could do was watch as those children fought…. They fought to protect me when it should be the other way around."

"If those two didn't arrive…., if they were a second late then…. Then…."

At this point Yorktown came forward, nearly knocking him down and proceeded to sob uncontrollably into his shirt. Even though he was the one that put them all in that position in the first place, she still felt it was her fault for not being able to do anything. She may not have been as injured as badly as the rest but on an emotional side, Yorktown suffered the most from this battle.

The only thing he could do was remain silent and let her bear her emotions out. This was the only way he knew how to comfort people. It was an admittedly weak move, but it was a lot better than saying something and making things worse.

Soon enough, her cries of pain and anguish faded and she became silent. She looked up at him with red eyes and faded tears on her cheeks, put a hand around him, slowly drawing them closer.

"York….town?" he asked, fearing how similar things were.

But she said nothing. Instead she drew closer and closer till there was only a hair's distance between their faces.

"Why are there three of you?" he asked

"What?" she asked, notably surprised by the question. Moving back, she noticed that the calm expression he had a moment ago had faded, in its place, was a tired…. Almost delirious expression on him.

"There are suddenly….. three Yorktowns in the room," he said, his body swaying a little "when did that happen?"

"Commander I think….."

"Oh, I'm out," he said, then swayed too far to the left and hit the ground. Worried that he injured himself, Yorktown scrambled to the edge of the bed and found that he had passed out.

**000000000000000**

He slowly opened his eyes, groaning and taking a minute to observe his surroundings. He was not looking at the single colored ceiling of the hospital room with one fan. He was looking at the lavishly colored ceiling with an ornate chandelier hanging above.

Considering how much was spent on the improvements to the base, he was either in the dorm, the lounge area or he was in his room.

He rose up and tried to scratch his head, only to see that he was handcuffed to the bed. A quick glance from one side to the next told him that he was in his room. He then saw the door turn and through it came Enterprise and Akagi. Enterprise often had an air of seriousness to her but when he saw Akagi also had that same air, he had a legitimate reason to be worried.

Akagi grabbed one of the chairs and sat directly opposite the bed. Enterprise on the other hand came up to him and when she was close, her right hand came forward and flicked him on the forehead.

It may have looked normal, but given the drastic difference in power between them, he was violently knocked back into the bed thanks to the force of her attack.

"That," said Enterprise "was just a fraction of the pain you caused everyone."

"Do you realize how worried we all became when Yorktown called us over, telling us you had passed out?" she shouted "what were you thinking working yourself to the bone like that for four whole days without any rest?"

He was silent at first. Then he noticed how red both their eyes were and the dried-up streaks of salt water on their cheeks.

"In trying to help everyone, I only made things worse," he muttered to himself.

"Well then Commander," barked Enterprise. I asked you a question."

"I was scared," he replied, answering the question she put to him.

"I've buried a lot of people. Back in my world there were friends I knew for years, months and weeks. One day they'd be talking to me and the next, they'd be in a coffin and were lowered into the ground. At that time, I'd see the look on everyone's faces. The parents, the husbands and wives, the sons and daughters, the pain they felt knowing that their loved one was never coming back…. It was the worst kind of punishment you could ever receive."

"That's why when I got here I tried so hard to make sure that we wouldn't lose anyone. And when I saw Spence and Unicorn all battered and bloodied, it felt like I failed them…. I failed you."

He lowered his head and there was a silence in the room. It was an uneasy and tense silence filling the air.

"Commander," said Akagi, breaking that silence "you need to stop feeling guilty for what happened and get over it."

At this statement, Enterprise turned in surprise to her, not expecting Akagi of all people to say that.

"The punishment you're talking about, the pain that you feel when you lose a loved one? That's already happened to me. I watched helplessly as my beloved sister went to die for us."

"Yorktown and Hornet have also felt that pain as well. But in their case, fate was at least kind enough to bring their sister back."

"We've all suffered losses Commander, we've all seen family members go off to fight and never come back. It hurts like hell but we've also learned that focusing on the pain and the loss is not going to help at all. Like how Kaga and I have moved on, you need to move on as well and make sure that the same mistake never happens again."

"Because news flash Commander, there's an entire fleet relying on you. All of us put our faith, our trust, our belief and our lives in your hands so you better stop acting like some victim and go back to being the leader we all know and respect."

"If I were you Commander," said Enterprise, looking out the window "I'd think about how the Siren fleet threw an armada at us and still lost."

"Hmm?" he asked

"Think about it. That was a helluva lot of ships they sent our way and we still won."

"You're right," he said, his eyes suddenly widening as if he came to some realization "that was a lot of them."

"Enterprise," he said, with a determination in his voice "take this thing off me."

"Commander you need to rest," she objected "you…"

"No time for that," he said, bending down and biting off the velcro strap with his mouth "I've just realized what I need to do."

Before she could voice her objection, Enterprise saw that the Commander had undone his handcuff, leapt off the bed then bounded for the door. About two seconds later he rushed back in, put his arm around Akagi and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Thanks Akagi," he said to her "that was the shot in the arm I needed."

Then he let go of her and did the same to Enterprise.

"Thanks Enterprise," he said to her "you know exactly what to say to me."

The pair watched him dart out of the room with a seemingly renewed vigor. After about two seconds, Akagi looked at Enterprise with a cheeky smile and said "he hugged me first."

Enterprise was about to protest when she and Akagi heard the intercom squawk to life.

"Attention all members of the Coalition fleet, this is your Commander speaking and there's something I want to share with you all."

"Recently, we came under attack. We survived sure but a lot of us are pretty worse for wear. Now I know many in the fleet are concerned, worried even if we'll be able to face the full might of the Siren forces."

"Well to those people and everyone else, here's an important piece of trivia I want to tell you. This is the second time the Sirens have sent such a large fleet to take out their enemy."

Hearing those words Hornet and Vestal looked at each other, unsure of what that meant.

"Hey Cleveland," said Phoenix "what does the Commander mean by that?"

"I'm not sure," she said, stroking her chin.

"In case you're all confused by what I said then this should clarify things," said the Commander on the mic "the first time the Sirens attacked with such a large force was during the fall of Neon Gate."

Realizing this, Enterprise and Akagi knew where he was going.

"That's right, the last time the Sirens were that serious was nearing the end of the first war, when all four factions were united under the Azur Lane. Sending so many ships to take us out when it was only two factions tells me one clear thing….. the Sirens are scared of us."

"When it was just the aces, we defeated the Sirens, when it was a fleet, we defeated an armada and when we unite all four banners, we'll defeat them once and for all."

"As of today I am declaring that we have entered a new stage in the war. No longer do we live in fear of the Sirens, no longer do we hide or run when we see a Siren ship coming; from this day forward, it isn't us who fear the Sirens, it is they who live in fear us."

The impact of his words could be felt on everyone who listened to him. All their fears and doubts faded as he continued his speech. They all remained perfectly still, transfixed to his voice, eager to hear what he would say next.

"Our force is large enough to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies. But we need the weapons to back up our forces. Which is why I am announcing that in the following days, I will select a team to accompany me to the north, to the top of the world where Lions and Dragons rule."

"He doesn't mean," said Akagi turning to Enterprise.

"He can't mean," said Enterprise looking at the speaker.

"That's right," he said, making his intentions clear "it's time to bring the Iron Blood into the fold."

And there it was. He had just told everyone in the fleet what his next move was. As the weight of his words sank deeper and deeper into the minds of everyone who listened, their thoughts then focused on his last few words.

The Iron Blood. The faction where the Lion of the North came from. The most heavily armed and the most dangerous faction in the whole world.

And the Commander had set his sights on them.


	22. MVC (Most Valuable Commodity)

**(AN: Thank you to Ultimate Kuuga for that sweet nickname and yes she is definitely going to be there.)**

"The Dragon of Omens, the Silver trio, ruby knights, the final letters, Lone Queen of the North, Empress of Metal, Steel Eater, Blitzkreig…" said Hornet going through paper after paper in the meeting room. She was not alone as Z23 and Eugen were also in the room with her, sorting out documents for the Commander to review. "Honestly, it feels like I'm reading less about people."

"That's one of the traditions we have back at home," said Z23, arranging some documents "before I came here, they called me Little Tornado."

"I was called Red Queen," said Eugen "but that was a long time ago. Ever since joining this fleet, I've mellowed out a lot."

'That is true,' thought Hornet, remembering how Eugen earned that title.

"You know, looking at these titles I've started wondering," she said "is the Commander secretly Iron Blood?"

"Huh?" asked the other two in the room.

"Think about it, Iron Blood women are strong, courageous, tough, noble, the first to step into a fight and the last ones to leave. They train their bodies everyday, they constantly hone their skills and they have a cool title to top it off."

"Wow," said Z23, at the realization. The very same traits she often chided the Commander for having were the same characteristics her sisters were famous for.

"Best not to bring that one up though," said Eugen to Hornet.

**00000000000000000000**

"So, that's who we're going to meet with next," said Pensacola, sitting in the cafeteria, along with South Hampton, Houston and Chicago.

"Damn, I still remember the last we saw of Bismarck," said South Hampton, taking a sip of her drink "One eye was cut, her right arm was shot to hell and she was outnumbered fifty to one. Even with those odds, that woman didn't stop fighting."

"She ain't the only badass in the world," said Houston "recently, Z23 and the Commander beat a high-ranking Siren."

"Seriously?" asked Chicago.

"Yeah," replied Houston, "sliced that monster up into three pieces."

"And he's going to get a whole fleet of 'em," said Pensacola "do you really think he could do it?"

At that question everyone at the table remained silent.

They had good reason to wonder whether or not he could make good on his claim. Although he may have had many of their qualities, that alone was not enough. To get a better understanding of the faction, it is important to know about their history.

To put it simply, in a world of soldiers, the Iron Blood were warriors. The faction was the first to encounter the Sirens during the first war and under the leadership of Bismarck, they offered a stiff resistance to the Siren forces, nearly beating them all in each encounter.

It was after many battles with the Sirens that Bismarck decided to go out and ally with the other factions, leading to the famous fleet being formed. However, after the war was over, the Iron Blood returned to their Kingdom and seemingly cut themselves off from the rest of the world. The other factions also did not interact with the Iron Blood as the group were prone to violent outbursts and did not interact well with the others.

As much as the faction had a code of honor they abided by, there was an emphasis on strength and in their minds, only the strongest ruled and everyone else followed the will of that person. So, for the Commander, the task of gaining allies in a wild bunch like the Iron Blood was akin to a rat taking on a lion and expecting to win.

As for the person in question

**0000000000000000000**

He was near the beach, but he wasn't alone. Before him stood Saint. Louis, Neptune, Monarch, Ibuki, Izumo and Roon. Because they had arrived in the middle of an attack on the base, there was no time to formally induct them into the fleet. Now that that danger had passed….

"I am number 01 of the PR class, Saint. Louis," said the woman in question, on one knee with her head lowered "my spear is yours to command."

"I am number 02 of the PR class, Neptune," she said, smiling at him "I live to serve you Commander."

"I am number 03 of the PR class, Monarch," said the redhead, standing to attention and saluting him "my cannons will see our fleet to victory."

"I am number 04 of the PR class, Ibuki," said the blue haired girl, bowing "please take good care of me."

"I am number 05 of the PR class, Izumo," she said, kneeling down and placing her sword on the ground, similar to Saint. Louis "ready and willing."

"And I'm number 06 of the PR class, Roon," said the woman with a casual wave.

All six of them stood to attention then saluted him and said all at once "from this day forward we swear an oath of absolute loyalty to you. Use our powers to fulfill your ambitions."

"It is an honor to have you in my fleet," he said, bowing deeply to them "I will not let your trust in me be misplaced."

"Now then," he said, rising up "with that out of the way, let's go gain some new allies…."

"Oh no you don't," interjected Belfast, making her presence known by grabbing him by the collar and dragging him back to his room.

"Wait, Belfast, what are you doing?" he asked, clearly against the idea "I have a mission to…"

"It's been seven days since the attack. There's still paperwork to do, shuffling our teams, selecting the groups for the commissions and seeing to the repair work," she said, "you don't have time to go running around the world right now Commander, not when there's plenty of work to be done."

"Uh Commander," said Saint. Louis, "what should we do in the meantime?"

"Right, right," he said, his voice fading "Ibuki and Izumo can be at the hospital. Help out Akashi and Vestal. Saint. Louis, Roon and Monarch, report to Cleveland for help with the repairs. Neptune, you have my permission to start that café with San Diego."

As much as he wanted to get started on his next object, Belfast and Z23 were firm with what came first. The base needed to be back to working condition before he could even think about going after anyone else. This resulted in him staying in his room for days, going over the necessary paperwork, approving requests for materials to come in and okaying commissions that were still undergoing. When he thought that he was done, either Belfast or Z23 would enter the room, drop a pile of papers on his desk and set him back to square one.

This went on for three days.

On the evening of the fourth day, he finished much of his work and decided to take a stroll through the base. As he was walking through, noticing how the repair work was proceeding faster than expected, he came upon Akagi seated outside the cafeteria, playing with the straw of her empty beverage.

"Hey Akagi," he said, coming up to her. Instantly her ears perked up when she saw him and she quickly rose to her feet.

"Hey Commander," she said, cheerfully "fancy seeing you here. I thought you had work."

"I do, but I managed to convince Belfast and Z to take a little break. And if they're taking a break, I'll take one too. Wanna keep me company?"

"Of course," she said, coming forward and linking her arms with his.

"I love the smell of the sea breeze," she said, when they neared the beach "when I was young, Kaga and I would sneak out of our rooms and go to the beach, just to play in the water. Of course, it being night and all we'd catch a cold and get scolded by Amagi."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman," he said, noticing the expression his companion had when talking about her.

"She was Commander," she said, looking a little misty-eyed "and she would have loved you Commander. Whenever I think about it, I notice how the two of you are so similar."

"Well I'm still not yet able to make weapons form on my sides and glide on water."

"You know what I mean," she said, playfully nudging him "smart and kind, wise and diligent. She was a picture-perfect beauty at home, but on the battlefield… she was something else."

"I've noticed that it's starting to get pretty hot in the evenings," he said, trying to change the subject "It's making me sweat a lot more."

"By all means Commander please take off your shirt," she said instantly "you should let your body breathe a little."

"I think I'll stick to losing the cape," he said.

"Now that I think about it, we are getting close to summer," she said.

"Summer huh, I wonder what that's like here?"

**000000000000000000000**

One night he had trouble sleeping. It was strange because he didn't do anything to cause this restlessness. He was sure he didn't eat anything strange which begged the question, why did he feel uneasy?

As he struggled to sleep, tossing and turning on the bed, he understood why he felt so restless. He felt like he was being watched, as if someone or something was watching him, like a predator targeting its prey.

Slowly and cautiously he opened his eyes. It looked pitch black, which told him it was early morning, perhaps a few minutes before dawn came. To the right of his bed, he saw there was no one.

'Alright,' he thought 'maybe it is just me.'

But as he turned to his left side, he saw a pair of bright brown eyes staring at him. Instantly, sweat began pouring down his head, fear took over him and his mind went into overdrive, thinking about what he needed to do next.

What was more terrifying was that as his eyes slowly got used to the darkness, the figure that was staring at him became all the more clearer. This caused him to emit a high-pitched scream, audible only to dogs, cats and dolphins.

"R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-Roon," he said, terrified at the person staring at him, "Wh-wh-what are you doing?"

"Don't mind me Commander," said Roon, "I'm just watching you sleep."

'I do mind that,' he yelled, but he yelled inside his mind "why are you watching me sleep?" he asked.

"Hmmm, I wanted to keep you company but then, when I saw you sleeping so innocently, I couldn't help but stare and admire how cute you looked."

At this point in time, dawn came and the sun slowly rose over the horizon, illuminating the room. The Commander also remembered that he clearly locked the door to his room before going to sleep. A quick look at the door and window indicated there was no tampering done, which begged the question of just how did Roon get into the room?

"How long were you watching me?" he asked, trying to hide how scared he was.

"Not really sure," she replied "I didn't see the clock or anything when I entered. Although I do know that it was dark outside when I came in. Like really dark."

'Oh, dear god,' he screamed internally 'she's one of those types.'

The type that the Commander referred to was a Yandere. Although it has been 'cuteified' to a nauseating degree in recent forms of pop culture, a Yandere is a deeply troubled individual that may look beautiful, kind and loving on the outside, they have a very dark personality on the inside. The best examples of a true female Yandere can be found in Yuno Gasai, Kaede Fuyou and Sakura Matou.

The most dangerous trait of a Yandere is their habit of developing a deep interest in one person and becoming infatuated with said person to the point that anyone else coming near the object of their affection is treated as the enemy.

'Think damn it,' he yelled in his mind, 'there has to be a way to defuse this situation.'

The already troubling situation he was in was further exacerbated when he heard some metal cracking, then saw how the doorknob to his room was crushed.

"Good morning Commander," said Akagi, striding in with a smile on her face "and how are you on this…"

"Geh," she said, her smile fading and her expression becoming dark.

"Commander," she said, the color in her eyes absent "why is Roon in your room?"

Before he could answer in some logical form Roon replied instead "I am making sure that the Commander is safe at night."

"Well thank you for your diligence," said Akagi, her hostile aura not decreasing in the slightest "you can go now."

"Nah, I don't want to"

"Why?" shouted the Commander.

"The Commander needs to be kept safe at all times," she said, coming closer to him "seeing as you're not suitable for the job, I'll do it."

"That's right Commander," she said, smiling and cradling his head in her arms "you'll be safe with me."

"Roon," said Akagi, forming her weapons, "get away from the Commander, NOW!"

"Make me," she taunted, forming her weapons.

"Wait, wait, wait not in my…."

But it was too late. The pair attacked each other and though the only severe damage caused was to his room, the Commander resolved to have some security measures installed in his room to prevent this incident from happening again.

**000000000000000000**

Walking through the base after finishing his work, the Commander noticed something strange: there was no one around. Thinking that perhaps they were all eating, he headed to the cafeteria, only to find there was nobody there either. Even Hornet, who would usually be hard at work making something new and delicious for the base was absent.

A little concerned that something was amiss, the Commander instinctually reached for his sword, only to remember that it was gone, no longer usable since the last fight.

"Damn Sirens," he muttered, eyeing some of the kitchen utensils.

"There you are," said a voice from behind.

He turned around and saw Hiryuu and Soryuu standing behind him.

"Girls, what's going on? Did something happen to everyone at the base?"

"Yeah Commander," said Soryuu "we all went to the beach. It is summer time remember?"

"But I didn't see anyone near the beach when I was out on patrol."

"Not that beach," said Hiryuu, grabbing his hand "come on, we'll take you to there."

**000000000000000000**

'Oh my god,' he thought, upon viewing the scene out infront of him. The fun, the merriment, the alluring swimsuits that were on display, it made him realize something.

'I'm on an island,' he thought 'with beautiful women. How the hell did I not realize that?'

"Why are you gawking like a monkey?" asked a voice.

Still with his jaw hanging wide open, he turned around and saw Z23, standing next to him, wearing a purple one-piece swimsuit, with frills around the shoulders and waist.

"Am I gawking, I'm sorry," he said, forcibly putting his mouth back "It's just,"

"What?"

"Hmm," he said, derailing his train of thought and turning his attention to Z23 "I never noticed it before but, you look really different without the beret. It suits you."

Z23 offered no response. Instead, she turned around and left, not wanting to show the tinge of red on her cheeks.

"Was it something I said?" he wondered.

"Heya Commander," said Cleveland, coming up to him "how are you?"

Cleveland had on a typical two-piece swimsuit, colored in yellow with patches of white flowers on the top.

"Taking it all in," he replied, smiling at her "quick question, is everyone from the base here?"

"Not just the base, but everyone from the Sakura Empire as well," she said.

"Really? When did everyone get here?"

"You shouldn't worry about things like that Commander, just enjoy yourself," she said "so what do you think?"

"About your swimsuit?" he asked "you look beautiful in it," he added.

"I-I-I-I meant about seeing everyone on the beach," she said, blushing and trying not to show it. Luckily for him though, Columbia and Monteplier arrived and took Cleveland away. As that happened, the Commander found himself in the company of the Yorktown trio, two of whom were sitting on a deck chair, while the third was out playing with Houston, Glowworm, Hammam, Shoukaku, Zuikaku and Wales.

"We usually take a day or two to have fun at the beach," said Enterprise, applying a generous amount of lotion on Yorktown's back "normally its just to have fun but in light of what's happened, it's good for everyone's morale."

The Commander simply nodded, munching on a triangular sandwich.

"And it's one of those events where everyone can participate," she added, not noticing that she was rubbing lotion a little too far south of the designated area.

The Commander wanted to point it out, but his sentence was interrupted when someone else said "figured you'd be hiding in the shade instead of going out and having some fun."

He turned around and saw Akagi and Kaga, dressed in a red and blue swimsuit respectively

"And you're even making our poor Commander suffer from boredom when he could be out there having fun," she added.

Akagi turned to the Commander, pushed her hair back on purpose and asked him "well Commander, does the sight of me in swimsuit make your heart race?"

"Yes," he said, almost instantly, shocking the four people around him.

Perhaps realizing that he should have gone with a more neutral answer, the Commander also realized his mistake, but it was too late now. Once words were said, they could not be taken back.

'Good luck dumbass,' said his brain, mentally leaving him.

"W-w-w-well what I was trying to say," he said, frantically trying to not sound like a pervert "I'm normally getting my ass kicked by Belfast or seeing everyone glide on the water and fire powerful weapons on their sides. Because of that I tend to forget that I'm on an island, with many, many beautiful women."

"Like you Akagi," he added.

"Oh she fainted," said Kaga, tapping Akagi, but the damage was already done. Although Akagi was rooted in her spot her consciousness had faded, no doubt a result of what the Commander just said.

Seeing that he was causing more harm than good, the Commander decided that it was better for him to head back to the office. Maybe he'd get some work done, maybe he'd fall asleep before getting anything done. Whatever he did, it didn't matter as long as he wasn't causing trouble for everyone here.

But as he was on his way back, he heard someone ask "and just where do you think you're going?"

He turned around and saw Belfast and Eugen stopping him in his tracks. Belfast had a red two-piece swimsuit while still keeping on her tiara and maid armbands. Eugen on the other hand had a black two-piece that looked a little too small for her.

"Sorry," he said, looking at the sky "I was just thinking that now's a good time to get some paperwork done. And I don't want to cause trouble for anyone so…."

At this, the pair looked at each other and sighed.

"Apologies master," said Belfast.

"Just remember, you brought this on yourself," said Eugen.

"Huh?" he said, followed by the two of them hitting him on the head, effectively knocking him out.

**000000000000000000**

"And its time ladies," said Soryuu on the mic.

"To kick off our beach party," added Hiryuu, followed by fireworks and confetti going off, to a cheering crowd.

"In addition to our regular team based events," said Hiryuu "today we're also having a number of events, where the winner will have one of three important prizes."

"As for who gets what, we'll that'll be based on your age group," added Soryuu.

"Before we show everyone the three grand prizes, let's bring out the prize first," they said together and behind them was the Commander tied up in a chair, looking very confused.

"Wait, what's going on?" he asked "when did all this happen? Why am I tied up?"

"Oh Commander you should stop asking such dull questions like that," said Hiryuu, putting an arm on his shoulder "you should just enjoy the program."

"Fine, then untie me," he said.

"We can't do that," said Soryuu, shaking her head.

"Why not?"

"Because then the prize would get away," they replied.

"What?"

"Anyway," said Soryuu, ignoring his question "you'll find that in addition to competitions to see which faction is better, there are also additional competitions based on age. And here are the prizes for the winners."

The pair gestured to a large board behind them, which showed a list of three things. The Commander was visibly worried at all three of them.

"In the youngest age group," said Soryuu "the Commander will be your big brother for the whole day. He'll bathe you, help you get dressed, take you out on a picnic, read you stories of your choice and tuck you in at night."

"For all the teenagers here," said Hiryuu "the Commander will serve you breakfast, lunch and dinner and, will feed you all three meals."

"And…" said Soryuu

"The grand prize," said Hiryuu

"For all the ladies here," they said together.

"You'll go on a date with the Commander at the newly opened Grand Park on the Sakura island. You'll ride on some of the many attractions available, play in the pool together, enjoy a delicious lunch and dinner and afterwards, will dance the night away under the light of a thousand stars."

"Oh good grief Hiryuu," said Soryuu, purposely waving her hand over her face "just thinking about that last one's making my heart race."

"Calmness sister," said Hiryuu "remember, it's our job to oversee the competitions impartially."

"Those prizes seem pretty mundane don't you think?" asked the Commander, surprising both Soryuu and Hiryuu.

"What do you mean?" asked Soryuu.

"I mean if these are prizes meant to help motivate the fleet then it should be stuff like new weapons or improvements to the weapons you have or maybe some kind of commodity that they can use multiple times later on or at least give them all something they like. I mean who's going to get motivated from…"

But his words were halted when he noticed that many (and I mean many) members of the audience in attendance were visibly fired up after hearing the prizes announced. Some of them were Enterprise, Cleveland, Belfast, Wales, Z23, Akagi, Unicorn, Suruga, Aulick, Saint. Louis, Roon, Neptune and Hornet.

"By your own admission Commander," said Hiryuu

"We're giving the fleet the greatest commodity available," added Soryuu.

"And now, let the competitions commence," they said, kicking off three fun filled days on the island. Needless to say that at the end of the event, the Commander was very, very tired.


	23. Northward Bound

When it was time to play, they played. A whole week they dedicated to enjoying the summer and after the event, the fleet broke up into smaller groups, each one enjoying some aspect that came from the change in season. As they played and partied, the work was being done.

Bit by bit, piece by piece, repairs were being made and protocols were being set. Developments in detection technology produced by Purin and Buri created an invisible field around the island. If they were about to be attacked, the system would notify them a whole ten minutes in advance. This effectively rendered any ambush null.

He may have spent a few hours in the week playing and being sociable, but much of the time was spent in his office, plotting out the journey and going through the roster, looking for the right candidates.

It was now a month into summer and one evening, after having dinner, he was standing outside someone's room.

"Yorktown," he said, quietly tapping the door, so as not to disturb anyone "can I come in?"

There was silence for a moment. He thought that perhaps she was asleep and that he disturbed her. Feeling bad for doing that, he took a step back then saw the doorknob turning.

"Please come in Commander," said Yorktown, opening the door and letting him inside.

"Sorry for disturbing you," he said.

"Not a problem, I just got out of the bath and was wiping myself down," she said, grabbing a towel and wiping her hair. "Please, have a seat."

"No need, I'll be brief," he said "I've selected the team and we'll be moving out either tomorrow or the day after."

"In my absence, I'd like for you to oversee the fleet. I'll be leaving behind Enterprise and Belfast to help you out."

"But, why me Commander?"

"Hornet told me all about how things worked in the EU during the first war. Enterprise may have been the face of the faction but you're the one that oversaw everything, while she was out fighting. The reason why Hornet took over completely was because she didn't want to burden you with too much work."

"You got all that from our old reports?"

"I'm good at my job," he said with a smirk "anyway, you'll be in charge of things here and Kaga is in control of the base over there."

"Sorry for dropping this all on you," he said.

Yorktown was about to point out that there were two other people who were more capable than her in leading the Coalition. However, she paused and realized why he was speaking to her and not to them.

"And that," he said, smiling at her, figuring out what she was thinking "is why I want you to lead."

"I'll accept but on one condition"

"What's that?"

"That this is only a temporary assignment. I have no intention of being the leader for too long."

He nodded in agreement then turned around and left. Yorktown paused, wondering whether or not to call out to him and bring up what happened when they last met.

The two of them were tired and weary in more ways than one. They were also defeated but tried their best to look like they weren't. Perhaps he did it better because so many eyes were on him, but she could not hold back her pain and bore it all out for him. In the moment between sorrow and realization, she reached out to him, the only one on the whole island who understood what she was going through. She wanted to comfort and felt that he could provide it.

But as the realization came to her, two people who hated themselves would have made for an awkward conversation and a volatile combination.

'No,' she thought watching him leave and close the door behind him 'it'd be asking too much of him. And besides, it'd be unfair to Enterprise if I said anything.'

**00000000000000**

Eugen, Z23 and Roon sat in the office, waiting for the Commander. He had sent them a message asking to meet him in the office, yet when they arrived, he was not present.

"Odd," said Z23, looking at the clock on the wall "he's never late to anything."

"He might be finalizing the team to come with him," suggested Eugen.

"Perhaps," said Roon "although he did look a little troubled when he was sleeping."

At that comment, the other two in the room stared incredulously at Roon. By now, nearly everyone in the fleet were aware that Akagi and Roon had made a habit of breaking into the Commander's room so they could either greet him or watch him sleeping. Despite the targets efforts at creating some security measures in place, the pairs raw and unholy strength made all his efforts null and void.

Just then they saw the door open that he came through, holding a stack of papers in his hand.

"Sorry, I was just making sure fleet operations won't be affected," he said, placing the documents on the table "Kaga and I were having a lengthy discussion about that but you don't want to hear boring things like that."

"Right," he said, falling into his chair "the reason why I called you here is simple, aside from the team accompanying me to the North, you three will also be joining me."

"Why us Commander?" asked Roon.

"Because that's your home isn't it?" he replied in a way that looked like he was surprised they asked him the question "I figured you guys would want to go back there and see your sisters or family."

"Still not sure how the whole relations things work here," he muttered to himself.

"Well it's not like I have any interest in that place," said Roon "the only home I know is here and the only people I'd call my sisters are the other PR class women."

"Then it'll be an educational trip for you Roon," he said "you'll get to see how your extended family does things and maybe make a few friends along the way."

"Commander," said Z23, "have you thought about how you're going to bring them to your side?"

"By now you must have heard the rumors about the Iron Blood," added Eugen, looking equally concerned "having their weapons would certainly be a welcome bonus to the fleet, but that's if they agree to allying with you."

"Hmm probably trial by combat," he said, leaning back on his chair "but that's only if they ask for it."

"You realize that now isn't the time for jokes," stated Z23.

"And you should also realize that problems like those are for me to handle," he replied "I've decided that we need them and whether it be through words or by force, we will return with the Iron Blood."

**0000000000000000**

Two days after his meeting with Yorktown and a day after his meeting with Z23, Eugen and Roon, the Commander sent out the official statement. He named Yorktown in charge of the island and stated that Enterprise and Belfast would support her in her tasks. He also sent out a message naming the team for the mission.

Putting on his cape, he looked at how early it was and thought how long it had been since he started a mission this early in the morning.

Chuckling a little to himself, the Commander left his room, headed out the main doors and went straight to the beach, where his team was ready and waiting.

For the long-range shooters, Wales, Takao and Monarch. For the aircraft carriers, Akagi, Hornet and Illustrious. And for the vanguard, Yukikaze, Cleveland, Z23, Eugen and Roon.

As he drew closer, he noticed Akagi was holding a sword.

"Akagi," he said, "I didn't know you could use a sword."

"This isn't for me Commander," she said "it's for you."

She gave him the sword and he placed it on his side. Then he unsheathed the weapon and saw that it was a traditional katana, but the blade was colored yellow.

"It was made from the body of the Siren you and Z23 sliced up," she added, with a devilish smile "when we saw the body, I thought to myself 'now this would be a good idea.'"

"Killing them with their own kind," he said, sheathing the sword "remind me never to get on your bad side."

"Alright team," he said, addressing everyone present "I hope you're all prepared for this mission. I've mapped out our path and shared it with everyone before-hand. This should give us the path with the least possible resistance. However, I expect that we're still going to get into plenty of trouble, either from the Sirens or from the Iron Blood."

"Stay focused, stay sharp and I expect everyone to come back safe and sound. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir," they all said together.

The journey to the North would take at least a week to get there. This was accounting for storms and the off chance of meeting a Siren fleet along the way. Traveling such a distance was too difficult for any one of them to do so it was taken in turns. Recently, the Commander found out that they were able to manifest the ships they represented, albeit in a smaller version compared to the original.

This allowed everyone to travel on a single ship for a duration, rest at a nearby island and then continue the journey with another ship.

***Three days into the journey**

"Maybe it's just me," said Oklahoma, cutting up some vegetables while Ranger stirred a very large pot "but have you noticed it's gotten pretty quieter now?"

"Well I can understand why," said Helena "there's a certain element of madness we're missing."

"You think so?" asked Oklahoma.

"Yeah," said California "there was a word for it. I remember Noshiro telling me when I went to their base. Ah yes, a manic energy."

"Yep that does sum him up nicely," said Oklahoma, chuckling a little.

"Hey guys," said Columbia, alongside Monteplier "what's up?"

"We're busy making lunch for everyone," said Phoenix "what about you guys?"

"We're bored out of our minds to be honest," replied Columbia "usually we'd be having a game with Cleveland, but she's not here to be our hitter."

"Don't you mean 'Clevebro?'" asked Phoenix and everyone in the cafeteria laughed.

"Guys please," said Monteplier, in a rare display of emotion compared to her usual stoic self "I couldn't stop laughing when the rumor started flying around. It took me a whole day to forget that name."

"It took big sis a whole week to forgive the guy who came up with that name," added Columbia.

"I remember her chasing him around the base with a baseball bat after Thatcher called her Clevebro as well," said California.

"She made sure he'd never say that name again," added Helena.

**00000000000000000**

"Wow sister," said Yorktown, knocking down the last chess piece on her opponent's side "you are really terrible at this."

"Well can you blame me?" shouted Enterprise "I'm not cut out to be sitting at the base and waiting for things. I should be out there, taking the fight to the enemy."

"Oh?" said her sister, raising her eyebrow "you didn't have any problem with the Commander. Does that mean you don't like your big sister in charge?"

Enterprise was uncharacteristically silent at the question. Perhaps the only weakness she had was that she could never stand up to Yorktown's bullying.

"That isn't what I meant Yorktown," she said, twiddling her fingers.

"I know Enterprise, I just love playing with you like that. But I do admit, the base is a lot quieter now."

"AAAHHH," said Enterprise scratching her head "I'd give anything for something to happen right now."

"Enterprise," said her sister "if that wish of yours ends with us being attacked again, I swear I'll tell the Commander all the stories about you when you were a little girl."

Enterprise froze at the threat. There were some parts of her life that were best left relegated to the past. Her youthful troubles were one such section.

Just then they saw Belfast running into the room, looking concerned.

"Something's happened," she said. In response, Yorktown simply stared at Enterprise, who shrunk under her sister's gaze.

Nevertheless, the trio left the room, heading to the beach with Belfast in the lead.

"Kinu and San Diego noticed her in the distance and went to pick her up," she said to the two.

"Her?" said Yorktown "you mean one of our own? who is it?"

"That's the problem," said Belfast.

When the trio reached Kinu and San Diego, Belfast led Enterprise and Yorktown to the woman in question.

She was an auburn haired girl, wearing a dark blue shirt and a pair of jeans. Judging from how messed up her hair looked, the prunes on her fingers and the dryness of her lips, it was easy to say that she had been drifting in the ocean for more than a few days. She was alive, but needed food and water, actual drinkable water.

"Should we take her to Vestal?" asked Kinu.

"Not yet," said Yorktown, analyzing the woman carefully "we still don't know who she is."

"Maybe she's from the Royal Navy," suggested Enterprise.

"Doubtful," stated Yorktown "I remember everyone from the Royal Navy and I can honestly say I've never seen this woman before."

"Well she's definitely not from the Eagle Union or Sakura Empire," said Enterprise "and she can't be Iron Blood either."

Occam's razor is a principle from philosophy that states in the event of ruling out all possible and probably explanations, the least likely one is the answer.

Considering that she did not belong to any of the four factions, there was only one possible, albeit hard to swallow idea.

"Then," said Enterprise, turning to Yorktown, "she might be an otherworlder."

Just as the possibility of that ran through Yorktown's mind, the group noticed the woman stirring, followed by her coughing up some water.

"Get her to the emergency room, quickly," declared Yorktown "for now we'll get her back to normal. After that, we're going to get our answers."

**000000000000000**

Like how the Eagle Union had an island as their base and the Sakura Empire had their own base as well, the Iron Blood had a large swathe of land they made their home. True to their nature, the faction spent a great deal of time and effort into building a gigantic fortress called 'The Eternal Throne.'

On the journey, Z23 and Eugen were talking about the fortress, telling him everything about it and getting excited to see their family after so long. They talked about how the fortress flew the Iron Blood colors on two giant hanging banners, how there was a flag at the top of the fortress to show their enemies where they were and that in the years that it was built, no force was capable of breaching the defenses.

His planning worked out well for him and the team reached the North two days ahead of schedule.

"Commander," said Z23, holding his hand to hide the fact that she was trembling. She wasn't the only one though.

When The Eternal Throne came into view, everyone had reason to be worried.

The banners that hung proudly on either side of the fortress were torn and tattered, the flag that stood high and defiant in the sky was burning and the walls that held back attack after attack, standing the test of time were now shattered and broken, scattered across the island.

There was one reason for this, there was only one reason why a fortress like this was in such ruin.

As the Commander looked to the skies, his gaze fixed on the cause of this devastation, he said "team, this mission changed from recruitment to rescue."

**0000000000000000**

Inside the fortress, a blonde-haired girl darted through the halls, stopping only for a moment as the ground and walls around her shook violently. She made her way through a large set of doors, to where the rest of her sisters stood.

"How is it like outside?" asked a woman with short silver hair and a single streak of red hair on her left side.

"Bad," she replied "those damned aliens made it through the central defenses."

"Tch," said a girl with dark grey hair and had a two tufts of hair colored red and white "let me at 'em."

"Sit your ass down you moron," shouted a woman with an eyepatch "you're still dealing with the injuries from the last attack."

"Where the hell are Zeppelin and Tirpitz?" asked the woman with a single streak of red "I know they went with you."

"Tirpitz took a beating in the attack," she replied "Zeppelin's helping her get here."

"Why aren't you helping as well?" shouted the woman.

"Because I need to see mother," she replied "there's been a development."

"Oh?" asked a voice and the two of them turned around, looking at the raven-haired woman with red horns on the side of her head "and what has changed? Has the enemy grown bored of attacking us?"

"No mother," said the blonde-haired woman "on the way here I noticed several new entrants on the map. I believe it's them."

"Really?" asked the woman with a red streak "their timing could not be more fortuitous."

The raven-haired woman turned to a window, looking at the Siren fleet in the sky, continually raining fire and destruction on their heads.

"I guess it's time for one last concert," said the leader of the Iron Blood, Friedrich der Grosse.

**(AN: I know that Friedrich is a PR but please bear with me till the story is done as I have a reason for her being here.)**


	24. Rock Band

His mind was racing: thoughts, ideas and plans rose to the surface like bubbles in a bowl of water on a stove. But as the bubbles rose and reached the surface to break, so too did any form of rational thought.

He could see it in their eyes, he could see it in all of them. Perhaps the only one who didn't seem all that affected by the sight was Roon, which made sense given how she had not seen much of the Siren's atrocities.

As the ship neared the shore, he could understand what they were thinking, what they were all thinking. This fortress, this monument of steel was a living testament to the world. It was a symbol of the Iron Blood and like its name, it was meant to last for an eternity. Even if the world were to end one day, if all of them were to die for one reason or another, this fortress would stand forever.

So seeing something as imposing as The Eternal Throne struggling to hold its form had no doubt sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

When the boat reached the shore, his hand instinctively reached out, grabbing Z23, who was about to run off on her own.

"What are you doing?" she shouted, no doubt overcome with emotion.

"I'm stopping you from doing something reckless," he replied.

"But this is my family. I have to help them, for all we know they could be…" she said, nearly grabbing his arm and pushing him off, but Eugen stopped her.

"Do you see any bodies here?" he asked, and Z23 stopped. His question had the other members of the team scan the area, all of them coming to the same conclusion.

"This attack is bad, I'll agree to that, but the only damage we've seen so far has been to the building. I don't see any bodies here. Do you?"

Z23 finally freed herself from his grasp, but she did not want to make eye contact with him. Instead, she looked away and said "no."

"Then assume that they're all alive until proven otherwise," he said.

"Easy for you to say. It's not like its your family in trouble."

At those words nearly half the team were about to pounce on Z23. The only reason they stopped was because he held his arm out to them, telling them that he was not done talking.

"You want to take your shots at me, then go right ahead," he said, unsheathing his new sword "but after that, I need your head in the game. After all, I imagine you want to meet your family on your own two feet, instead of being brought in bloodied and beaten."

She said nothing to his comment. There was a tension hanging in the air now, made worse by the fact that they were running on a clock.

"Let's get going team," he said, turning to the others. Everyone nodded and followed him as he made his way through the broken parts of the main doors. The only ones who remained were Eugen and Z23.

"Try to remember," said Eugen walking ahead of her "he could turn around and run any time he wanted. This world may not be his, but the fact that he's still fighting for it means something."

Entering the fortress, the Commander recalled his conversations with Z23 and Eugen on the journey here. The superstructure was made up of a large outer wall, an inner secondary wall and the main building which was where the faction ate and slept in.

At any point in time, a number of guards are posted on the outer and inner walls, allowing there to be two layers of detection in the event of an attack. Although movement from one section to the next seemed difficult to the outsider, there existed a network of underground paths and halls built into the walls that were known only to the members of the Iron Blood. This allowed a group to assemble at a particular location very quickly, giving them ample time to mount a counter.

Information is not a tool. It is a weapon. With the right information you can take down a dictator or a politician without firing a single bullet. Conversely, without the right information you'd have to wade through a pile of bodies and bullets just to get to the one target.

Because the faction had cut off contact with the rest of the world, they might not know much about the war and how much it progressed. The improvements made to their armor would have caught their opponents by surprise. Knowing that, the Sirens needed only to arrive with a large enough force and even a well-equipped faction like the Iron Blood would certainly be driven into a corner.

"There's something else I'm missing here," he muttered to himself, while the team scanned the area. He looked at the gates, the walls and the areas that were hit hard by the cannon fire. Given the degree of thought the enemy put into the attack, he could not deny the possibility that they also had a secret weapon.

His thoughts now turned to an explosion in the sky. All of them turned to the sky and saw a Siren ship had given in to its injuries and was crashing down towards them.

He did not need to say it, they all thought it as the team leapt to the side and avoided the crash. Roon in particular held the Commander and stood infront of him, shielding him from the impending explosion.

"Thanks Roon," he said, getting to his feet and patting her on the shoulder, not minding the gleeful smile she had.

"Uh Commander," said Cleveland on the other side of the wreckage "you guys okay over there?"

He took a moment and looked at the team. None of them were hurt, which was always a good thing.

"Yeah," he said, "we're fine. But there's a problem now."

The problem he referred to was that thanks to the crashing ship, the team was now split in two. On one side was Roon, Wales, Akagi, Hornet, Yukikaze and Eugen. On the other side was Illustrious, Takao, Monarch, Cleveland and Z23.

"Z," he called out "do you know the way to the main building?"

"Yes," she replied.

"And Eugen?" he asked, turning to the her and she nodded in response.

"The plan hasn't changed," he said, "both teams will make their way to the central building, wiping out any enemy resistance along the way. It goes without saying but if you see anyone hurt or wounded, then you bring them with you as well."

"And Z," he added.

"What?"

"Don't do anything I'd do."

Z23 scoffed at the implication but understood. In the time that he had been here, his gung-ho personality had rubbed off on her, evident of how the two of them faced that one Siren instead of calling for backup.

The two teams set off in their locations, all the while their movement was under the watchful eye of a certain blue-eyed Iron Blood warrior.

**00000000000000**

"Hmm," she said watching the otherworlder and his two teams set off in separate locations, one led by Z23 and the other led by Prinz Eugen.

'Eugen?' she thought, remembering the fate that befell her sister 'no, that's not possible. It must be a trick of the mind.'

"Not the time Tirpitz," said the woman next to her, carrying her wounded body "we still have to reach the base."

"I'm sorry Graf," she said, turning to her "it's just… I thought I saw Eugen."

At this, the woman called Graf raised her eyebrow in surprise.

"Sister," she said "we really need to get you back to base."

**000000000000000**

Seated atop a Siren battleship, she watched as her forces hammered away at the fortress. When her fleet arrived, she wasted little time in using her main guns and peppering the enemy's defenses with constant gunfire. The only problem with using such energy was that she needed to take some time to recover her energy.

'They're still not through,' she thought, seeing as her ships struggled to breach the secondary wall and reach the main building 'we may have the advantage in armor, but our weapons still have room for improvement.'

'Then again, it's not like I'm in any rush right now. I can take my time and enjoy watching these cornered animals fight till there's nothing left,' she thought, smiling yet paid no attention to what was going on underneath her.

**000000000000000**

"Ow, ow, ow," shouted the girl with red and white strands of hair "who the hell taught you to patch up a wound?"

"Oh shush now," chided a woman, wearing oval shaped spectacles "I've seen you take a hit from Scharnhorst and still kick up a fuss."

At this, the girl with the injury could only growl in response.

Just then, everyone in the large hall noticed a small door open. Instinctively they formed their weapons only to see Tirpitz being carried by Graf Zeppelin.

"Why are you forming your weapons?" asked Zeppelin.

"We thought you were the enemy," replied a pink haired girl with a metal arm.

"When would the enemy ever fit through doors that small?" asked Graf.

The group all paused at the question. Then the girl with the metal arm said "you make a point sister."

"Don't mind my injuries or anything," said Tirpitz, drawing attention back to her current physical condition.

Graf Zeppelin took her to a wooden table and gently put her atop it.

"How bad is it out there?" asked Friedrich, while some of Graf's sisters tended to Tirpitz's wounds.

"Well they haven't made it past the second wall," said Graf with a shrug, "but not for a lack of trying though. I imagine it won't be long before they breach the second line and come here."

"Additionally, Tirpitz spotted a group from the other factions coming to us. They were led by Z23 and Prinz Eugen."

"Yes," said Friedrich, "Hipper noticed it as well. Would they reach us before the enemy breaches the second gate?"

"Doubtful," replied Tirpitz, sitting up, much to the objections of the women helping her.

"Then we have no other option available," said Friedrich, turning to the doors.

"Attention everyone," she said aloud, her commanding voice drawing the attention of everyone in the throne room.

"An unknown team has arrived in the fortress and are making their way to us as we speak. However, we cannot stay here and wait for them to come. Instead, we will use this opportunity to make our escape through the main entrance, while the unknown team deals with the Sirens.

"Mother, I'm all for getting out of here," said a woman with an eyepatch on her right eye "but that would mean leaving this team to fend for themselves. I heard that sisters Z23 and Prinz Eugen are part of that team."

"Rest assured Scharnhorst," she said, forming her weapons "I'll send them a message they're sure to understand."

**000000000000000**

As the two teams were running through the second and third path, getting closer to the destination, the Commander looked at the sky and noticed something. Compared to before, the amount of shots being fired by the Siren ships had decreased in number. Experience dictated that they were not slowing down due to lack of weapons, they were up to something.

"Wales," he said, turning to her "toss me up."

"What?" asked Wales, nearly tripping in the process.

"Grab my clothes and throw me up," he said, elaborating on his previous request.

"But… Commander that's a little…."

"Just toss me," he repeated once again.

Wales relented at the idea but could not refuse the request, as abnormal as it sounded to her. As per the instructions, she grabbed him by his shirt and then threw him into the air.

Thanks to her doubt and hesitation, Wales did not send him too high up. This afforded him the chance to view the battlefield while also not being seen by the enemy forces. A quick scan of the area and he knew what was going on.

The team that accompanied him saw him descend. When he was close enough, he took out his sword and jabbed it into the wall near him, slowing him down.

"This blade is amazing," he said, landing on the ground and taking his sword out of the wall.

"Commander, what did you see?" asked Roon.

"Trouble," he replied and continued running towards the destination.

"Z, is there any way you or Eugen can get in touch with your sisters?"

"Negative," replied Z23, "the damn Sirens are using the same tech they used when they hit the island. We may be able to communicate with each other because of the patch, but we can't speak to them."

"Why?" asked Cleveland, wondering what the problem was.

"Because the Sirens are laying out a trap," he replied "when I got tossed into the air…"

"You got tossed into the air?" repeated Monarch "why would something like that happen?"

"I needed to get a view of the battlefield, but that isn't important. The Sirens are gathering their destroyers and battleships at the first path. My guess is that they know the Iron Blood is going to try coming down this path since it's the easiest way to escape or they're gathering their heavy hitters to launch a straight-forward all-out attack on the main building."

"Whatever their reasons are, we need to get there faster," he added. The silence he got in response was enough of an answer.

Just as his team rounded a corner, he heard Z23 on the communicator.

"Uh, Commander," she said, "you think you'll be able to reach the Iron Blood before us?"

"Nope," he said, as he and his team stopped.

"Why?"

"The same reason you asked me that question," he replied "we've also run into a little roadblock."

"This is bad," said Monarch.

"Well no point in playing it quiet ladies," he said, taking out his sword.

As both teams formed their weapons, Eugen, Yukikaze and Roon stood alongside the Commander while Akagi, Hornet and Wales were behind them. The frontline ran forward, intent on taking out the ships impeding their path, as quickly as possible.

**0000000000000000**

Back in the main building, Tirpitz and Scharnhorst and Graf Zeppelin noticed multiple explosions coming from the second and third path.

"Uh-oh," said Scharnhorst, running back inside, to Friedrich.

"Mother, the Sirens have started attacking those two teams," she shouted.

"All the more reason, we get this message across."

**0000000000000000**

Eugen leapt off the side of the wall, while Roon bombarded some of the ships from above, allowing Yukikaze and the Commander to land multiple shots on the base of the ships. As she was about to fire, she noticed two energy beams shoot out from the left and right sides of the main building.

"Eugen," shouted Z23 "did you see that?"

Just as she was about to answer, a Siren destroyer shot at her and sent her crashing into the wall. Just as she was about to fall and hit the ground, the Commander dove towards her and cushioned her impact, with his back.

"Commander," said Eugen, shaking away the dizziness from the attack and picking him up.

"You good?" he asked, looking for any major injuries on her body.

"Yes, that can't kill me," she said, shaking her head "Commander, we just got a message from the Iron Blood."

"What? How?"

"Our mother," she replied "she used her weapons to tell us that they're going to escape through the first pathway."

"They'll be heading right into the enemy's trap," she added, looking desperate.

"All the more reason we finish this quickly," he said to her.

"Akagi, Roon I need your help," he called out and the pair wasted no time in joining him.

She continually fired planes at some of the ships while the Commander ran up the nearby wall, leapt off and came down on the ship closest to him. Since his sword was made of the same metal (maybe even better) as the Siren ships were, he was able to land a deep cut on the side of a Siren ship. This allowed Akagi to fire as many airplanes as she could inside the ship, while Roon wreaked havoc on the outside, with her lasers.

Akagi then threw the Commander onto the deck of one of the Siren ships, allowing him to cut a hole right through their deck and another hole that got him out of the ship. This time, Roon entered through the opening and carved her way through the ship before emerging on the deck and leaping off, while the ship exploded behind her.

Yukikaze and Eugen fired at a Siren ship's guns while Wales and Hornet assisted them with a stream of long-range fire. Although much of the ship's guns were destroyed from their combined assault, the main gun was able to fire a few rounds at Hornet and Wales, causing them to break formation and avoid the attack.

The ship was about to fire again but stopped and turned its main gun onto the Commander, who was darting towards it. It fired and fired but his nimble movement from left to right, saw that none of the attacks landed home. Seeing this opportunity, Wales fired a barrage aimed at the main gun and smiled when she saw all her attacks hit the target. This allowed both Hornet and Akagi to assault the ship with a barrage of airplanes, sending it crashing down.

**0000000000000**

Friedrich and the others heard the sound of gunfire and explosions occurring on either side of them. As much as she wished to assist them, the safety of her family, her daughters came first. All she could do now was hope in silence that her message was understood by Z23 and Eugen.

The group stuck to a standard formation. Friedrich, Hipper, Scharnhorst, Graf Zeppelin and Spee were all infront. Behind them were the rest of the fleet, carrying those who were too hurt to fight.

With the sound of gunfire and cannons looming above them, none of them noticed or paid much attention to one shot that was not aimed at the group on the second and third paths. This was a costly mistake as that one shot was aimed at them and it hit their backline, sending more than half of the faction flying in all directions.

"Damn it," shouted Hipper, running to the injured.

Those that were still standing turned around and saw in horror that they were staring down the wrong side of multiple Siren cannons and guns. The otherworldly weapons wasted no time in assaulting the front line with a barrage of merciless cannon fire.

Scharnhorst, Zeppelin, Spee and Friedrich faced the incoming fire head on, formed their weapons and attacked. If they were to dodge, then the cannon fire could kill their already badly injured comrades. The four of them continued attacking the Siren ships all the while struggling against their enemy's onslaught.

Scharnhorst was the first to fall. Unable to take the merciless barrage, her body buckled under the weight and she was knocked back as a result. Spee, Zeppelin and Friedrich worked to close the gap she created but in the midst of that, Spee also suffered heavy damage. Zeppelin and Friedrich gathered whatever strength they had in them, charging at the enemy in an attempt to give their family the time they needed to recover. For a moment, it looked like they had an advantage, but that changed when a barrage of fire from multiple battleships descended on them.

Friedrich slowly rose to her feet, wiping the blood from her lip and surveying the damage. Many of her children were unconscious. Those that weren't were struggling to gather their injured and weakened comrades.

"So this is it," she muttered silently to herself.

She then turned to face the Sirens, formed her weapons and said "change of plans. Tirpitz, lead the team back to the main building. You'll link up with that other team by then. Together, they'll help you escape this base."

"But…"

"GO NOW!" she barked, "this is my last order as the leader of the Iron Blood."

Turning around and facing the Siren ships all on her own, Friedrich formed her weapons once again and charged towards them with reckless abandon.

'One last concert,' she thought, firing at the ships. The sound of gunfire and explosions ahead of her sounding like a twisted symphony to her. Like the maestro overseeing an orchestra, she poured her heart and soul into each performance and this one was meant to be her greatest one.

The cannons fired at her and she faltered but she did not quit. She rose to her feet with greater determination than before and charged the enemy once again.

'The concert is reaching the climax,' she thought as the intensity of the attacks drew with each step she took. Her body was riddled with cuts and injuries, her determination was spent and running on fumes at this point.

'It is time,' she thought, pointing her guns to the ships 'for one final burst. Let the strings sing a loud and mighty chorus, let the brass and percussion forever mark this day in history and let the wood sing forevermore of my deeds.'

"Glory to the Eternal Empire," she shouted, quoting the motto of her faction, ready to meet the finale.

"FIRE!," shouted a voice, from behind her.

All of a sudden, the orchestra around her warped and faded. Now there was a different music she could hear. There was no beauty and harmony to the instruments. There was a madness and chaos to it. The strings of the violins and cellos were replaced by the mad cries of an electric guitar, the uniformity of the percussions was marred by the screams of a single drum thumping louder and louder with each moment. The boom of metal from the brass were replaced by the unnatural yell of an electric keyboard and the overall melodious tone of the orchestra was replaced by the howls of a singular, definitive voice.

As she turned around and opened her eyes, she saw the voice, the source of this new music and she saw him.

His sword was pointed in the direction of the ships behind her. Beside him were women from the three different factions. Behind him were the rest of the Iron Blood, who were just as shocked at their arrival as Friedrich was.

His music had no elegance or harmony to it. His was a chaotic mess of guitars, keyboards, drums and singers.

"Damn lady," he said, lowering his sword "that was pretty badass."

She watched him turn to the others, no doubt to check the extent of their injuries and planning what to do next. As she watched him do this, she felt something stirring deep within her heart, no deeper than that. There was something stirring deep within her soul.

Slowly, the corners of her lips began to curve ever so slightly, the gesture focused on him, which was an honor that only one other person in history had ever received.

His music was crazy and mad, yet she could not help but be drawn to it. After all,

Who doesn't love a good rock band?


	25. The Lion's Roar

***Meanwhile at the base**

As per Yorktown's orders, the unknown girl who washed up on their shores was taken to the emergency room. Here, Vestal administered the required medicines and stabilized her condition. In the time that it took for her to recover, Yorktown placed guards outside the room as a preventative measure. Right now, they didn't know who she was, which meant that she was either an otherworlder or some kind of Siren.

Two days passed and the girl had recovered.

"My name is Alice Footman," said the girl, sitting up in her bed, speaking to Yorktown.

"I'm thirty-five years old, I got a degree in accounts and I've been struggling to find a job in the years since I graduated. Recently I was out sailing with some friends of mine when a storm hit us. The waves must have rocked the boat too much, causing me to topple over."

"Thank you for rescuing me," she said, Holding Yorktown's hands "I don't know how long I was drifting out there. I wouldn't have lasted longer if you didn't…."

"It's good that you're alive," said Yorktown.

"If possible," said Alice "I'd like to get in contact with my family. They're probably worried sick about me."

Yorktown sighed mentally. This was why she was never a fan of leadership, despite how much her sisters spoke about her organization skills and adeptness at fleet administration.

'If there's a lack of supplies or we need more guns then its no problem,' she thought 'Instead though, there's this new girl that's suddenly come here and has no idea what's going on.'

'Of all the things to have happened while you ran off.'

"Um…" said Alice.

"Right now, we haven't yet verified whether or not what you're saying is true," said Enterprise, entering the room, much to the surprise of Yorktown.

"What do you mean?" asked Alice, looking visibly concerned.

"She's right," said Yorktown "for now, please stay here and wait till we're sure you say who you are."

'Commander, get back here quickly.'

**000000000000000000**

"Sisters," cried out Z23, falling to her knees and embracing some of the girls she called her sisters.

"Eugen," shouted Hipper, putting her arms around Eugen and pulling her into a tight hug.

"I thought that you…." She said, sniffling a little "I thought that you died."

"Technically I did," said Eugen, putting a shoulder on her "but then, he happened."

Hipper turned to the Commander, who was busy speaking to Monarch, Akagi, and Wales.

"That other girl," she said, looking in the direction of Roon "she's wearing our colors but I don't recognize her."

"That's Roon," said Eugen "trust me, that's a story for after we get out of here."

"Eugen," said a familiar voice followed by a pair of arms wrapping around and her and pulling her in for a tight hug.

"Ma," said Eugen, struggling to break free.

"You can't blame me for being so happy to see you," said Friedrich, refusing to let Eugen leave her "seeing you here is nothing short of a miracle."

"And you too Z23," she said, turning to her "my daughter has returned, safe and sound."

As Friedrich reached out and pulled Z23 into her embrace, Eugen noticed how the Commander was busy helping Konigsberg, Karlsruhe and Koln tend to the wounded. Then he turned to Wales and Takao, their conversation inaudible thanks to the embrace of her mother.

A moment later and he turned to Eugen, giving her a coy smile and purposely covering his lips.

"What?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all," he said, playfully "it's just, I've known you for a while and this is the first time I've seen you get embarrassed Eugen."

"Same to you too Z," he added.

The pair were now wildly embarrassed as their faces became red, thanks to what he said and how much it annoyed them.

"You were the one who brought my children back," said Friedrich, coming towards him. Up close, the Commander noticed how tall she was, which only added to the imposing aura she gave off.

"You also saved my life and the lives of my family. Yet I don't even know your name."

At this the Commander took in a deep breath.

"Nice to meet you miss, I'm the Commander, leader of the Coalition fleet. My talented and powerful team here accompanied me to the north, where I hoped to recruit you and your faction into our fleet. However, when we got here we noticed the attack and decided to change our objective from recruit to rescue so please say yes when I say that I'd like to help you and your family get out of here," he said in one breath.

"Yes," said Friedrich, almost instantly.

"Wow, I honestly didn't think she'd agree like that," he muttered to Z23.

"Stop asking questions and let's move on," chided Z23.

"Alright everyone, we're going to be moving in a few minutes now. But before that how many of you are able to fight?"

The question was directed to the Iron Blood. The Commander's shoulders slumped down when he saw them all raise their hands. He was reminded of their tenacity despite the injuries they sustained.

"Let me rephrase that," he said "how many of you can fight?"

At that question, Hipper, Graf Zeppelin and Tirpitz raised their hands.

"That's Hipper, Graf Zeppelin and Tirpitz," said Eugen, pointing to each of them as she said their names.

"Here's what we're going to do," he said turning to his team "we're using a diamond formation to protect the injured and prevent any surprise attacks."

"Front line will be Yukikaze, Z23, Eugen, Cleveland and Hipper," he said. "Right flank will be Wales, Takao and Monarch. Left flank is Illustrious, Akagi, Roon and Tirpitz."

"Hornet and Graf Zeppelin. Stay in the middle and call out shots. If you see a ship that none of us saw, call it out. We can't let any of their attacks hit us right now."

"Hey hold up," barked Deutschland, standing up "why are we taking our orders from you? We don't even know you."

The response came from Tirpitz, whacking her younger sister on the back of her head.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"Because he did introduce himself," she replied "he's reliable enough that he saved everyone and he is the only chance we've got at getting out of here."

"Then what about afterwards?" asked Deutschland, turning to him "you said you wanted us to join? Are you going to try and force us into helping you?"

"He wouldn't do something like that," said Z23, finally free of Friedrich.

"That so?"

"That's right, because if he did then I wouldn't be fighting with him and Eugen wouldn't have returned."

"She does have a point," said Tirpitz, rubbing her chin "you know how Z23 is. If she's vouching for someone, we can trust them."

Tirpitz then turned to the Commander.

"As my sister trusts you, I shall also trust you," she said "remember the importance of that and remember that should you betray that trust, you will not live long enough to regret it."

"Y-Yes ma'am," he said, swallowing hard, not imagining her hunting him down.

Just then, they saw a number of explosions occurring from the main building.

'Looks like they've recovered,' he thought, then turned to the group "we can debate about whether or not I can be trusted afterwards. Right now, we're in a dangerous place and we need to get out of here, fast."

"On that, we're all in agreement," said Graf Spee.

"Wait," said Akagi, just as the group was about to leave.

"Who's guarding us from behind Commander?"

"That'll be me," he replied, taking out his sword.

"As daring as that may be," said Friedrich, walking towards him "we cannot risk any mistakes, not right now. I'll also bring up the rear."

With them in agreement, the large group started running to the base's entrance. Those who were too injured to walk, were carried. Hornet and Graf Zeppelin kept their heads on a swivel, ready to react if they saw anything remotely hostile.

At once, the front line started firing ahead of them, bombarding a few Siren cruisers and destroyers. When that happened, the right and left sides saw multiple ships appearing and firing at them. Both sides weathered the attacks and struck back with equal force, annihilating the ships.

The Commander made it a habit to look behind him every ten seconds. The closer they were to victory, the closer they were to making a mistake. The last thing they needed was to have an enemy ship come behind them and fire.

Just as he feared, it happened. He saw a Siren cruiser lower itself, its guns trained on the group. Wasting no time, he immediately bounded up the nearby wall, leapt off and landed on the ship's deck. Here, he ran across the deck, his sword cutting into the body, all the while keeping it's guns trained on him.

This afforded Friedrich the opportunity she needed to land a one-shot one-kill on the cruiser and send it crashing into the ground.

"Don't look behind you," she said to Scharnhorst and Gneisenau "focus on making it out of here."

The two nodded and turned away. As they did, the Commander landed near Friedrich. Friedrich then fired at some of the Siren ships on the left and right.

As the group neared the entrance, he noticed Friedrich slowing down. Sensing that something was amiss, he too did the same.

"Commander what are you doing?" shouted Wales, noticing this. All at once, the group stopped their advance, wondering what he was thinking.

"Go on ahead of me," he said, turning in the direction of Friedrich "I'll bring that lady back."

"But Commander,…." Cried Z23.

"NOW," he yelled, asserting that his previous sentence was an order and not a request. Begrudgingly, the team that accompanied him headed out the entrance.

"Not joining your team?" asked Friedrich, seeing the Commander approach her.

"Ah well the thing about me is that I'm a traveler at heart," he said, with a shrug "when I go to new places, I like to see the sights, the sounds, the tastes, meet new people, make some friends….."

His sentence was interrupted when they saw an energy beam hit the ground before them. When the beam faded, the pair saw a white-haired, yellow-eyed and pale-skinned woman descend from the skies, her sides surrounded by some floating orbs and multiple pointed shapes that looked similar to the Siren ships.

"Engage in the local activities," he said, turning to the Siren

"The Dragon of Omens and the Will of Azure," said the Siren "to think that I'd get to wipe out our two greatest threats at once. Must be my lucky day.

"Don't look so surprised otherworlder," she said, turning to him "everyone in the fleet knows about you and how you killed one of the Triumvirate. I thought you weren't all that threatening to be honest…"

"But that was before you ruined my plans."

"Well it's not all on me alone," he said in response "This was a team effort and I don't like hogging all the glory. The last time I took on one of your types, she called herself Overseer Alpha, what's yours?"

"Arbiter: The Empress III," she replied "remember it, as it will be the name of the one who ended your miserable life."

"Her type's got a force field," he said, turning to Friedrich "they can block some attacks but if we keep hitting it, it'll give up soon."

"Commander," said Friedrich, forming her weapons "would you like to dance with me?"

"It would be my honor," he replied, pointing his sword at the Siren.

Arbiter fired a few blasts at the two, which they dodged. The pair were coming at her from either side. She fired a barrage of guns at the Commander, who ducked down to avoid them, then resumed his attack. Arbiter saw them getting closer and spun in a circle, firing in all directions. While Friedrich ducked, he jumped up and threw his sword at her. It came as no surprise that the sword was knocked away from the force field, but Friedrich took the chance to grab the sword before it hit the ground, thrust it forward, landing a cut on Arbiter's shoulder.

Arbiter winced in pain, taking a step back but recovered with a fist to Friedrich's gut, causing her to let go of the sword. The Commander then picked it up and landed a cut on Arbiter's stomach but she pushed past the pain. Arbiter grabbed him and flung him towards the wall but Friedrich caught him before that happened.

Rather than setting him down, Friedrich flung him right at Arbiter, who leapt to the side to avoid being hit by him. The Commander landed on the ground and attacked her from behind but it was blocked by the shield forming across over her body.

Friedrich smiled as this was what she hoped for. She wasted little time and fired two energy beams from her weapons at the Arbiter. Although the shield blocked the brunt of the attack, it shattered under the strain, causing Arbiter to jump back and avoid further damage.

But she had no time to catch her breath as the Commander flung his cape towards her, blocking her vision for a moment. That moment was all the time he needed to thrust his sword forward and seeing it go through her body.

Arbiter yelled out in pain, knocking him aside and sending him crashing into the wall. But he quickly recovered from that and charged towards her. Friedrich watched the two of them fighting, waiting for her moment to strike.

From the way he engaged the Siren in quick attacks and moved away before she could retaliate, Friedrich understood why he was such a thorn in their mutual enemy's side. The thought of killing someone as dangerous as him was a tantalizing prospect, which was why the Siren focused her attention more on him than her.

Both Friedrich and the Commander understood this as the latter kept the Siren busy, causing her to unknowingly lower her guard.

In that moment, Friedrich saw her opportunity and fired two powerful blasts of energy from her weapons, sending Arbiter flying back a good distance.

He was about to say something but then saw a large energy beam shoot out in the direction the Arbiter fell. The beam hit Friedrich, sending her crashing into the ground.

"So I was right," he said, turning to Arbiter. He saw her coming towards them, pointing a cannon barrel at them, which was significantly longer than the others.

'She broke through their defenses,' he thought.

Arbiter pointed the cannon barrel at him and fired. Considering that he could never dodge an energy beam in time, his instincts told him to raise his sword up and block.

"Huh?" he said, seeing the shot being deflected into one of the walls.

"You," said Arbiter, stunned by what she saw "how did you do that? No metal in this world can block our weapons."

"Good thing this isn't from this world," he said, pointing his sword at her.

Realizing the implications of his words, Arbiter fired a concentrated beam at him, intending to finish him off. Given the size of the attack, he could have easily dodged it. The only problem was, if he dodged it, then it'd hit Friedrich.

So the Commander blocked the beam with his sword, but the force of the attack was slowly pushing him back.

'This is bad,' he thought, his hand struggling to hold onto the weapon as it grew hotter and hotter.

Friedrich rose to her feet and saw the Commander slowly being pushed back by the Arbiter.

"I can't hold this thing for much longer," he said, turning to her "get out of here, now."

There was a part of Friedrich's life that she never mentioned to anyone. It was a secret she kept for many years. It was a secret that only two people in the world knew and only one of them was still alive.

Friedrich knew that her daughter was meant for greatness, even at a young age. As she watched her grow and exceed her expectations, she was more than happy to give up her role as the leader of the Iron Blood to Bismarck, in recognition of her talent. When the Sirens came, she was the one who suggested that Bismarck unite the factions in order to better stand against the invaders.

When it was done, Bismarck approached her mother, saying that Friedrich was better suited to lead the Azur Lane and not her. In a move that she had regretted for the rest of her life, Friedrich declined the opportunity, saying that there was only one person fit to lead the Azur Lane and that was Bismarck.

Had she realized the weight of her decision, had she known the outcome it would bring, Friedrich would have gladly changed places with her daughter, instead of unknowingly sending her off to her doom.

'He's a lot like my daughter,' she thought, slowly rising to her feet 'I made the mistake of letting someone I love face the enemy alone once, I will never make that mistake again.'

"Run Friedrich," he shouted, about to let go of the sword.

But Friedrich didn't listen. Instead she ran straight towards him and held him, keeping him from being pushed further back. Then she formed her weapons and fired two large energy beams at the Arbiter, hitting her shoulder and sides, causing her to stop the attack.

Seeing the opportunity, the Commander ran towards the Arbiter. When he was close, he slid down and with a swing of his sword, lopped off Arbiter's right leg.

The Siren screamed in pain at the loss of a limb but was unable to react. This was because, by the time she turned to the Commander, Friedrich had drawn close enough, kicking her right in the face.

"You must have kicked her all the way back to the main building," he commented.

"No time for compliments," she said, picking him "we need to get out of here."

Before he could say anything, Friedrich had leapt high up into the sky.

"When this base was constructed," she said to him "my daughter did so with an idea in her mind."

"Nothing lasts forever. Even a place as sturdy as this was bound to fall, either to time or to her enemies. Which was why Bismarck made sure that her throne room was built tall and wide."

"When the time came," she continued "when the defenses fell, when there was no one left to fight, when all was lost, Bismarck would return to her throne and take her place."

**00000000000000000**

"Damn those two," said Arbiter, slowly getting up "I swear they will suffer for this."

**00000000000000000**

"She'd watch silently and wait. She'd wait for her enemies to enter the throne room. Then she'd smile….."

He noticed how Friedrich formed her weapons and pointed them to the main building.

"and greet them before sending them all straight to hell."

This was followed by her firing two energy beams at the top of the main building. The Commander watched as the attack hit the tower, triggering multiple explosions from the top of the tower to the bottom of the building. This was then followed by the entire base being engulfed in a massive explosion about the size of a small town.

"She called it," said Friedrich, smiling at the devastation caused "The Final Roar."


	26. A true Villain

Z23 formed her ship while Eugen and Roon helped get everyone on board. As the group boarded the ship, the trio turned to the fortress, wondering if the Commander was okay. Occasionally they'd hear explosions in the distance and worry what was going on.

First were the Iron Blood, followed by the fleet. Eugen and Roon checked the area once again, making sure they didn't leave anyone else. Once that was done, they too got onto the ship which soon moved away from the island.

When they were at a considerable distance. The group saw a bright light followed by a massive explosion engulfing the fortress.

"NOOOO!" shouted Z23, fearing the worst had happened.

But those fears were allayed when she and everyone saw Friedrich land on the ship, holding the Commander in her arms.

"What's the matter dears?" she asked, looking at them.

"We thought that you two died," said Eugen, sighing in relief.

"That would never happen," she said, smiling gently at them.

"Um, Friedrich," said the Commander, drawing attention back to him "you can let go of me now."

"Hmm?" she said, tilting her head "now why would I do that?"

"Because we're safe now."

"True, but then it would be a shame letting you go after you finally found your place in the world."

"Huh?"

"People have spent their whole lives searching for their place in the world. Yet at such a young age, you were able to find your place, here, in my arms, inches away from my loving embrace."

"MOTHER," shouted everyone in the Iron Blood, followed by the Commander being yanked out of Friedrich's grasp and into Roon's grasp, while she and Akagi were staring daggers at her.

"I knew it," shouted Deutschland "I knew there was something wrong about him from the get go."

At this, Friedrich let out a light chuckle of delight, enjoying the way her children were reacting to her statement.

"Please remain calm children," she said, "I merely said that as a joke."

This had admittedly calmed the fleet down, although the sly smile she shot in the Commander's direction told him another story. He could feel a cold chill running down his spine.

"Well," said Wales, letting out a deep sigh "I don't know about you, but I plan to take a long, hot bath when I get back."

"I'll be raiding the cafeteria when I get back," said Hornet "all that fighting's really got me beat."

"Now that I think about it," said the Commander, "we're going to need new buildings to house the Iron Blood."

"There's a nearby island we can use," suggested Z23

"Commander," called out Tirpitz.

"In light of everything that's happened," she began "from you saving my sisters to taking care of my family, I am certain that our lives are safe in your hands."

"Which is why," she added, going to one knee and lowering her head.

"I Tirpitz, leader of the Iron Blood and the Lone Queen of the North pledge my loyalty to you. From this day on your enemies are my own and all those who oppose you will know their place in the world, six feet under the ground."

At this, many of the girls from the Iron Blood as well as Eugen and Z23 were quietly muttering to themselves.

"What?" he asked, looking at the pair "what's going on?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all Commander," said Eugen, purposely giving him a coy smile "it's just well…. It takes a certain degree of luck to get my sister to say something like that."

"Lucky you," said Z23, only furthering his confusion.

"I don't understand," said Hornet to Cleveland "that oath was a little heavier than normal but…."

She stopped to hear what Z23 was whispering in her ear. After that, Hornet whispered what she heard to Cleveland.

"Hey come on," said the Commander "tell me what you're all whispering about."

"That aside Commander," said Friedrich, stepping forward "I must ask, do you think you can defeat them? Do you think that you can succeed where your predecessors failed?"

"Yes," he said, with no hesitation.

"Oh? That was a rapid response."

"Sorry if that came off as a little arrogant but I mean what I said. We're now just one faction away from uniting everyone. When that's done, I plan on hitting the Sirens with such ferocity that if any of them survive, they'll think twice before coming to this world."

"But more than that," he added "I'll make it so that you, and your daughters will never have to fight another day. When this war's over, you'll all live normal, happy lives."

When he said that, the group looked at him in surprise. It looked like he was suddenly speaking an alien language.

To better understand their reaction, it is important to understand the nature of the women in the Iron Blood. That nature is best summarized by a saying "We are born on the battlefield and we die on the battlefield."

As stated before, the Iron Blood were the strongest faction in the world. This stemmed from them constantly training and sparring with their siblings, creating a group of warriors much like the ancient Spartans or Vikings. Fighting was all they knew and more than that, fighting was what was expected of them.

Yet, as movies have clearly indicated, even the most battle-hardened warriors dream of a day when they no longer have to fight and live a life of peace and quiet. The concept may sound strange, but look no further than to films where there are many characters who have given up a life of fighting and killing and enjoying a peaceful life.

To the women of the Iron Blood, a normal, boring life was like a dream one that they kept deep within their hearts and never told anyone about it. Whether it be for fear of being looked down upon by their sisters or simply that it was a dream far out of their reach, it was a life they never thought they could have.

Yet, when such a possibility was right there in front of them, they responded in an un-familiar way.

"Hey Deutschland," said Hipper, pointing to her "what's going on with your eyes?"

"Huh?" said the lady, feeling something trickle down her cheek. She touched it and asked "what's going on?"

"Now it's happening to me too," said Scharnhorst "what's going on?"

"Did you do this?" barked Graf Zeppelin, turning to the Commander furiously.

"Wait sister," said Z23 "what's happening to you isn't a bad thing. Those are called tears."

"Tears?" repeated Deutschland.

"Yes," said Friedrich "you're all crying because deep down, you all want a normal life."

"N-no mother," said Hipper "we're fighters through and through."

"It's alright," said Tirpitz "dreaming of a normal life is something we've all done from time to time. Those tears are proof that deep down, we all want the same thing."

"Oh Commander," said Akagi, shaking her head dismissively "you should be ashamed of yourself."

"Huh?"

"You've gone from making one or two women cry to making a whole faction cry."

There had to be a record for how quickly his mood changed from hopeful to depressed upon realizing what he had done. From that moment, till the end of the journey, he sat slumped down in a corner of the ship, and insisted everyone call him 'Tearjerker, the villain that makes women cry.'

**0000000000000000**

"This isn't working," said Enterprise, opening one eye and looking at Yorktown.

"That's because you keep talking," said Yorktown, her eyes remaining closed "but when I think about it, you were a very energetic child, never the type to sit still and enjoy things."

"By the way," said Enterprise, getting up from her meditation pose "where's our prisoner?"

"She isn't a prisoner, she's… she's a guest, of sorts. And she's with Belfast."

It was at this point in time that they heard Tennessee's voice through the intercom saying "ship spotted in the distance. I need Saint Louis, Neptune and Ibuki to report to the beach."

"It could be an attack," said Yorktown, standing up, then turning to Enterprise "go."

Enterprise leapt off the balcony of the two storey housing complex her sister was staying at. When she landed, she headed towards the beach, noticing that the others were ahead of her.

When they got there, she noticed that Alice was sitting on the sand, letting the ocean waves lap against her feet, while Belfast was taking the opportunity to do a little sunbathing.

"What?" she asked, upon noticing Enterprise's piercing glare "no telling what kind of madness is going to come to our shore courtesy of the Commander. I should take whatever opportunity I can."

Just as Enterprise was about to say something Ibuki interrupted "it's the Commander. He's back."

Immediately, the trio of Enterprise, Belfast and Alice stopped what they were doing and turned to the direction Ibuki was pointing at.

"Who are….." said Saint Louis, "who are those people with my master?"

"That's…. Hipper," said Enterprise "I'd know that hair anywhere."

The group watched as the ship drew closer. Alice, noticing the one man on the ship, immediately felt a flash of pain on the right side of her head. She closed her eyes and clutched that side of her, but took a few steps back, so as not to let anyone see what was going on with her.

'Why is this happening?' she thought, seeing a string of images flashing past her too quickly for her to recognize.

The group meanwhile watched as the ship reached the beach shore and everyone got off.

"Master," said Saint Louis, bowing to him "I am glad that your trip was a successful one."

"Thank you Saint Louis. I hope you guys weren't too bored doing nothing here."

"Cleveland," he said "head back to base and get Phoenix, Brooklyn and Lexington started on some housing rooms for our new comrades."

Cleveland took a few steps to the base then turned and asked "wait, why Lexington?"

"That woman's a genius in interior design," he replied and Cleveland nodded then left.

"Hornet, take everyone to Vestal and have them checked out," he said, turning to the other woman "after that, you guys can either grab something to eat or have a hot shower."

"Friedrich, right now we don't have enough room for everyone, please bear with me for the time being. You and your family can use Z23's, Eugen's and my room for the time being."

"And where will you rest?" asked Tirpitz.

"I'll use my office for that," he replied "first things first though. You need to get a clean bill of health so follow Hornet to the hospital."

"Um, Commander," said Tirpitz, pointing out to how Roon was holding his sleeve, eyeing the others suspiciously.

"With everything that's going on, I forgot to introduce her," he said, "Tirpitz, this is Roon, a PR class ship for the Iron Blood. I'd like you to teach her all about your family and their history."

"Roon, go with Tirpitz."

"No," she said, flatly.

"Come now Roon," said Saint Louis, "the master has work to do and you shouldn't stand in the way of that."

Realizing this, Roon (very reluctantly) let go of the Commander and followed Tirpitz.

"If you need," said Neptune to the Commander, "I can go with her."

"Yes please do that," he said "for some reason Roon takes a while getting used to others. And for some reason, I'm the only one she had no problem with from the start."

"There's a reason for that," muttered Enterprise.

"What?"

"Nothing"

"Enterprise," he said "how have things been in the base since I was away? wait a second, who's that girl? and why is Belfast lying on a lawn chair in her swimsuit?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about Commander," said Enterprise "not about Belfast, but about the girl there."

"I'm all ears."

"She's an Otherworlder, like you."

"Eh?" he asked, surprised by the statement.

"EHHHHHH?" he said, shouting as the statement had fully sunk in.

"Also, there's something else."

"What else?"

Enterprise gestured for the Commander to follow her and he agreed. He wondered though, what could be more important than the Otherworlder.

She took him to one of the storehouses. There, she opened a shutter and led him inside.

"Recently," she began "the girls from the Sakura Empire were able to find a few of them during their commissions. Seeing as you have better luck with them than anyone else, we thought it best to keep them here."

What Enterprise was referring to was a stack of wisdom cubes that were gathered and stored here. He understood Enterprise purposely kept them here so as to not draw too much attention to them.

"Enterprise," he said, walking over to the objects "with this many, we could do it."

"Do what Commander?"

"We could bring them back," he replied, turning to her.

"The Azur Lane, we could bring all six of them back."

**(AN: *gasp. Sorry I haven't been able to update on a daily basis. Work gets hectic from time to time and by the time I reach home, I'm too tired to do anything. Hope y'all understand)**


	27. Azur's Legacy

As much as Alice found it comforting to be in a room with someone that was not as drop dead gorgeous as the many women she had spoken to, she could tell from her companion's expression that he was not as happy as he was.

Perhaps that stemmed from his military background. From his posture and haircut, she could tell that he used to be in the military or still was.

There were too many questions swirling around her mind right now.

"The most important thing you need to know," he said, breaking the silence of the interrogation room. "is that you're not on Earth. This is a world that bears some resemblance to ours in terms of the flora and fauna, but has significantly less landmass than Earth and has more water."

"Ok," she nodded, listening. This was an admittedly jarring thing to say so casually, but she took it in her stride. If she were to burst out now, it would only cause trouble for her.

"Since you're a civilian, we can't involve you in any of the other activities," he continued, seemingly deep in thought.

"Where did you say you're from again?"

"Long Island," she replied "I know that this is a military base of some kind. Maybe I can help."

"No there's no need for that," he said, getting up "we've already got a system in place. You're free to tour the base within reason of course. One of my comrades will give you a schedule of when we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner."

With that, he left the room and was greeted by Enterprise, Belfast and Yorktown.

"Well?" asked Yorktown, voicing the question on everyone's mind "is she a Siren?"

"No," he said, "she knows too much about my world for starters."

"But you don't sound convinced," said Belfast.

"Because there's always the possibility that the knowledge she has from my world could have been implanted into her mind," he added "but if that's true, then it only raises more questions than answers."

All he knew about the Sirens was that they were an alien race that came to this world years ago, were defeated and had returned once again to finish what they started. With the technological advancements they possessed, it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume they'd be capable of installing fake memories into some kind of new infiltration unit.

But if that were true, then the only way for them to do that is if they had an actual human being kept their prisoner. This begged the question of how did the Sirens get an otherworlder? Did they know about his world or was their knowledge limited to this reality?

And if none of that were true, if she were a normal human girl from Earth, what does that mean? Is she supposed to be the actual leader of the fleet? Did Hood make a mistake summoning him? How'd she even come to this world?

'Of all the times there had to be a curveball,' he thought, looking at Alice through the looking glass.

"Should we keep a patrol on her?" asked Enterprise.

"No," he replied "for now let's give her the benefit of the doubt. Keep a patrol on her, but don't make it too obvious. Let her do what she wants but keep her away from anywhere important."

"Important?"

"She isn't allowed near our research facility where Akashi, Purin and Buri are, she's definitely not allowed near the main building and she's not allowed near Yorktown's class."

"Why Yorktown's Class?" asked Enterprise, only to get an accusatory nudge from her sister.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he said, heading to another door "I'm going to do the impossible."

The trio watched him leave, all of them wondering if he could indeed do the impossible.

Revive the Azur Lane.

Despite his best efforts at keeping a lid on the wisdom cubes, the high-ranking members of the fleet i.e, Enterprise, Wales, Illustrious, Eugen, Belfast, Yorktown, Hornet, Z23, Friedrich, Saint Louis and Akagi all found out. Since his last interaction with the otherwise unknown material resulted in the return of many of his high-ranking fleet members, the group was eager to see if he could repeat his achievement once again.

"If he does do it though," said Friedrich, sipping a cup of coffee "what does that mean for his role as the leader of the fleet?"

"I wish I knew mother," said Z23, looking concerned.

"Odd," said her mother "I'd expect that you of all people would be happy for this to happen. You loved playing with Bismarck when you were little and I hear you were on good terms with Hood as well."

"Yeah, but…" said Z23, twirling the spoon in her coffee cup.

**00000000000000000**

"Psych yourself up dude," he said to himself "just visualize their images and the cubes will do the rest."

He had asked that no one else come into the warehouse while he did what he did. Although the group agreed to his request, a number of them had turned up and were standing outside the warehouse, eagerly awaiting the results.

All that he knew about the Wisdom Cubes were thus: they were a tool capable of transmitting his voice to 'the other side', a form of afterlife that existed in this world. How this resulted in the revival of the dead was something that the team working at the research lab could not explain, but the important part was this: if he concentrated on them hard enough, he could bring them back. He could bring all six of them back.

"Alright then," he declared to no one in particular "time for an encore ladies."

He pointed his right hand to the cubes, imagining the six members of the famous fleet. Now was the time to bring them back.

"Come on," he said, closing his eyes, expecting to be completely engulfed by a white light.

After a few minutes of there being no light, he opened his eyes and found that nothing happened. The cubes were still glowing, his hand was outstretched and there was no one else.

"Come on," he said, to the cubes and got nothing.

"Revive," he said, but was met with silence.

"Heroes never die," he said and still got nothing.

"Damn it," he shouted and stomped from side to side "there has to be something. Something I'm missing here."

"Think, what happened back then. You were fighting Hornet, Z23 was facing overwhelming odds, you were in dire straits."

Suddenly hit with an idea, he darted to the warehouse entrance, flung the door open and stopped when he saw Enterprise, Akagi and Belfast outside, looking like they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"No time to argue," he said "Belfast, come inside."

"Wha-" but she was already being dragged in before she could say anything else.

"I want you to shoot me," he said, now that they were inside.

"Master, are you joking?" she asked, seriously wondering if he said what he said.

"No I'm not," he replied "I've been trying to make these cubes work but I've been getting nothing from them. I figured the best way to get a response is to recreate the scenario from the first time. And in that first time, I was being attacked by Hornet."

"Then why not ask her."

"She isn't here"

"Why ask me?"

"Because you're my maid. Maid's are supposed to listen to their master's, right?"

"When it comes to stupid things like letting them lie on your lap or feeding them their meals," said Belfast, sighing "no maid would ever do something this crazy."

"Then be the first."

"No."

"That tiara makes your face look fat."

"I will not," she said, her eye twitching angrily "succumb to these underhanded tactics."

"Fine, I'll go get Z23. She always loves to take potshots at me."

"Master it's not the situation that counts," said Belfast and he stopped "maybe it's you."

He didn't say anything to this. All he did was turn around.

"Are you," she said, looking worried "are you really trying to bring them back?"

"Of course I am, how could you even suggest I'd halfass this?"

"Because Commander," she said, "if they come back then you'd have to give up your position."

At this point in time, Both Akagi and Enterprise had snuck into the warehouse and were watching the conversation. As they watched, the two of them tried to recall the last time they saw the Commander looking so visibly angry.

"If you think," he said, his fist trembling "that my pride is more important than the lives of six women… then you don't know a damn thing about me."

"Master…"

"If them coming back means that I have to step down then I will gladly do that," he continued "and I don't give a damn if my pride takes a hit or two. The only thing…. THE ONLY THING that matters to me is ending this war and if that means bringing them back then I will gladly give up my position and pride to make that happen."

"And if you can't help then leave," he said, marching to the Wisdom Cubes.

Belfast watched silently as the Commander continued calling out to the six heroes, only to be met with silence. As much as it hurt her to get yelled at like that, this was a test she needed to know the answer to.

It was a growing concern that the high-rankers in the fleet had had. Should the process be successful, the Commander would have to step down and he might not agree with that. There was every possibility that he could try something to keep from losing his position.

Considering the amount of times he put his life during all the missions and his work in helping the fleets work together, suspecting him was nothing short of a slap to the face. But they needed to be certain.

The trio watched him yelling at the Wisdom Cubes in the hopes that something might happen, but there was nothing. As minutes turned to hours and time passed, the only thing that happened was his voice grew weaker and tired from shouting so much.

"Why," said Akagi, coming out of hiding.

"Akagi, what are…" he said.

"Why can't you bring them back?" she asked "why is it so hard for you to bring them back?"

"What's so different between Enterprise and Amagi that you'd have no trouble bringing one back but struggle to bring the other back?"

"Akagi," he said, reaching out to her but she took a step back.

"Why?" she said, now crying "do you hate me and Kaga? Do you enjoy seeing me suffer?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why can't you bring her back?" she shouted "why can't you bring back Amagi? Why can't you bring back my sister?"

As much as he wanted to answer her, he could not. He was trying his damnedest to figure out a solution but had nothing. He wanted to, he truly wanted to bring them back in the hopes that the six of them could lead this fleet to victory, yet for some reason, he struggled to make that goal a reality.

"Akagi," he said, but she shook her head.

"I… I have to go," she said, turning around and taking a few steps forward before running and leaving the room.

"You two should go as well," he said, referring to Enterprise and Belfast, who had witnessed the exchange.

"But.."

"Please go," he said, covering his eyes "or else I'll say something stupid that I can never take back."

The two nodded in understanding and quietly left the warehouse. This was to be a miraculous moment, something that would go down in history as a triumph of sorts.

Yet as he trudged towards the glowing cubes, there was no achievement or victory. There was no triumph, all he felt was a sinking feeling that he failed them. When push came to shove, he could not do the impossible.

Sitting down, he tilted his head back and let out an exasperated sigh. He could understand why Akagi was mad at him. She may have said that she got over what happened, the possibility of seeing her sister again got her hopes up. She probably felt jealous whenever she saw the Yorktown trio hanging around, wanting to experience that same familial wholeness she had when she was young.

Because of that, he slowly crawled forward, put his hand on one of the cubes and quietly said "please, come back. This world still needs the six of you."

But no answer came.

Frustrated at this, he rose to his feet and kicked one of the cubes. Unfortunately for him, the material bounced off the wall and came back to him, hitting him in the face and knocking him out.

**00000000000000000**

The Commander let out an annoyed groan as he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a clear blue sky, which was markedly different from the warehouse he was in.

"Okay I definitely don't remember this," he said, getting up and seeing that he was in a field of different colored flowers.

Almost immediately he became concerned. Could getting hit in the head by that Wisdom Cube caused him to get teleported to another world?

"Oh god," he said, the color draining from his face. He looked from left to right, spotting three figures in the distance. Relieved that he was not alone, he ran towards them. As he grew closer, his eyes widened in surprise upon noticing one of the trio standing in the distance.

"Hood," he shouted and was greeted by her familiar, warm smile. He wanted to hug her right away, but quickly came to a halt.

"This is a dream, isn't it?" he said, looking at her.

"Yes," she replied "what gave it away?"

"Because three beautiful women saving my skinny butt at the last second is too much of an ask."

"That's a pretty bold thing to say," said the woman on Hood's left "you know who you're talking to?"

He turned to the blonde-haired woman, dressed in black and red. "You're Bismarck. Lion of the North and one of the strongest women of your generation."

"'One of the?'" she repeated.

"Because the only one to have ever matched you in combat is here too," he said, turning to the woman on Hood's right. She wore a light purple kimono with a belt on her waist, bearing a gold flower. Atop her kimono, she wore on a long red coat. He didn't even need to look twice to confirm who this woman was.

"Amagi, the Goddess of Victory," he said, addressing the woman.

"You know who I am otherworld?" she asked.

"Yes. I'd recognize that radiant smile anywhere. It's the same smile Akagi and Kaga have."

Then, he took a step back and to their surprise, he bowed deeply to them.

"You've all gone above and beyond the call of duty for your faction and for this world," he said, "the sacrifices you made allowed the next generation to live a long and peaceful life."

"But that peace has now ended," he said, rising up "the Sirens are back and fiercer than ever. Right now the world doesn't need a crippled, weak otherworlder like myself. They need the Azur Lane, so please come with me."

The initially hostile expression that Bismarck gave him had changed after hearing his words. She looked at him with a pained smile, unsure of what she wanted to say.

"First, let's have some tea," said Hood, gesturing to the white table with four seats conveniently behind her "you must be tired from all that shouting."

He didn't want to, but he nodded in agreement and took a seat at the table.

"Avrora, Atago and Jean Bart won't be coming," said Amagi "I hope you understand."

"Getting to the point," said Bismarck, while Hood gave everyone their cups of tea "I'm sorry Commander, but we cannot come with you."

"Why not?"

"Because we know that you'll protect this world in our stead," she replied "that is why you're called the Will of Azure."

"Yeah but the three of you would do a lot better at leading the fleet than I would," he said, voicing his objection.

"Everyone I've spoken to speaks highly of you. Everyone remembers the fall of Neon Gate, the battle of the Crimson Waterfall and the three-minute showdown."

"But more than that, there are people who love you and want you back. Akagi, Friedrich, Z23; you weren't just heroes to some of them. You're family…. And they need their family."

"He really is as kind as you said Hood," said Bismarck, turning to Hood, who chuckled a little "makes it almost impossible for us to deny a request as earnest as that."

"The thing about history Commander," continued Bismarck "is that it tends to glorify or romanticize the past and leave out certain important details."

"The battles you spoke of," said Amagi "you talk about them like they were these triumphs of justice in the face of tyranny, a victory of good versus evil; yet the truth is vastly different. History often forgets the blood spilt and the lives lost in service of those victories."

There was a dark truth behind Amagi's words. Just like in this world, a lot of human history is often romanticized and made poetic, often leaving out the darker, gorier details. There are many battles in human history that saw a tremendous loss of life but these battles were used as an example of human triumph in the spirit of adversity, when it was anything but that.

History often labels the people that emerge from these horrible moments as heroes, yet more often that not, they were simply people trying to survive an impossible situation.

"The thing of it is," said Hood "we fought as hard as we could Commander. We fought, bled and died in order to bring peace to this world."

"And the dead deserve their peace," he said.

The situation he was dealing with was different from what happened with Illustrious, Wales, Belfast, Eugen, Enterprise and Unicorn. Although they died, they wanted to keep fighting and so when the chance came, they took the opportunity.

But that was not the case for the six heroes.

"We fought the good fight," said Hood "with all our might. And now, we deserve our rest."

She had a point. Soldiers who have done their part, fought their enemies and did their time had earned their right to peace. To bring them back into another war was asking too much of them.

"Commander," said Amagi, holding his hand "our decision to stay here is proof that you were the right choice to join the factions together again."

"What do you mean?"

"If you were as incompetent as you think you are," said Bismarck "then we'd have returned long ago. Yet, day after day, you've proven yourself."

"There is a strength to you," added Hood "not a physical one, but an inner strength. You have an earnest desire to protect this world and everyone who sees that is ready to fight alongside you. They know that they can entrust their lives to you and you would never betray that trust."

"Of course that doesn't mean you're useless on the battlefield," she added "I'll admit I cheered a little when I saw you and Z23 slice that Siren up."

"Cheered is putting it mildly," muttered Amagi, smiling a little at Hood, causing the latter to look away flustered.

"There is one more thing I want to tell you Commander," said Hood.

"What is it?"

"You need to let go of that guilt in your heart," she replied.

"Its true kid," said Bismarck "all three of us can see it, plain as day. You're blaming yourself for what happened to Hood."

"Can you blame me? If I wasn't struggling to come to grips with everything going on… "

"You did the best you could," said Hood, interrupting him "what happened to me was…. Necessary. But you need to stop thinking it was your fault."

"Heh," said Bismarck, chuckling when she noticed something "looks like your times up."

He noticed his arm starting to fade

"Commander one last thing," said Amagi "I need you to pass on a message to Akagi."

"Hey wait a second," interjected Bismarck "if we're passing messages here, then you can pass one on for me as well."

"Girls please," said Hood.

**00000000000000000**

Akagi heard the sound of the door knocking, followed by a familiar voice.

"Akagi," he said "can I come in?"

If she were being honest, she wanted to say no. Last night she showed a side of him she didn't want to and feared that she had done irreparable damage to their relationship.

Worrying that he had decided on an appropriate reaction, she covered her ears with the pillow, trying to block out the sound of his knocking.

Then, resigning herself to her fate, she threw the cushion off, got to her feet and headed for the door. She turned the doorknob, opened the door and saw him standing outside. He didn't have the normal, jovial smile he usually had. This time he was serious. All things considered; this was a serious moment.

"Good morning Akagi, sorry for waking you up," he said, when she opened the door.

"It's alright Commander," she said, taking a step to the side "please come in."

"Thanks," he said, coming into her room "there's something I wanted to tell you."

'Here it comes,' she thought

"Last night after everyone left, I got so mad at those Wisdom Cubes, I kicked one of them and in turn got knocked out," he said, confusing her.

"When I was knocked out, I dreamt that I was speaking to them, half of the members of the Azur Lane. I saw Bismarck, Hood and Amagi."

At this, Akagi's eyes widened in surprise. She stared at him wide-eyed, wondering what he was going to say next.

"Amagi wanted me to pass on a message to you," he continued "She said: 'I'm glad you found your cherry blossom. Now hold onto it with both your hands and never let it go.'"

Akagi was stunned upon hearing this. She knew immediately what he was talking about. It was that story, the last story Amagi read to her and Kaga before departing. She remembered how the story never reached its conclusion and that she kept that book safely tucked away, in a part of her castle that only she knew about.

This meant that there was only one way he could have known those words and how it would affect her and no one else.

"You saw her," she said, tearing up "you really saw her, you saw Amagi."

"Yeah," he said, lowering his head "she is just as you and Kaga described her. Beautiful and radiant."

"Commander," she said, putting her arms around him and pulling him into a deep hug.

"I'm sorry for what I said," she added, resting her head on his shoulder "I just…"

"You have every right to be made at me," he said, stroking her hair "I just hope that what I said helped you."

"It did," she said, nodding a little "it helped. More than you know."

There was a calm silence filling the room as Akagi continued hugging the Commander, honoring her sister's request.

"Um Commander," she said, sensing the mood.

"Yes?"

"Can we stay like this for a little longer?"

Glad that their relationship was on the mend once again, the Commander was glad to have stayed there and kept her company for a little while longer.


	28. The Queen's Proposal

He read the report then passed it back to Vestal.

"Any ideas how this started?" he asked.

"It's difficult to say," she replied, turning to Alice, who was lying in bed "apparently she felt the same headache when she saw you for the first time."

"I didn't know about that."

"Maybe it's something to do with you two being otherworlders," she suggested

"Could be," he said, toying with the idea "perhaps it's something to do with the nature of this world and how it can only handle one of my kind at a time."

"For now, just help her get back to normal," he said "if I need to talk to her, I'll send someone to relay the message. I'll also get rid of her guards."

Vestal noticed the Commander letting out a long sigh. Concerned, she asked "you're not getting much sleep are you?"

"Unfortunately no," he replied "overseeing the construction of that new housing complex for the Iron Blood and making sure the day-to-day activities for the fleet still go on without any problem is really taking a toll on me."

"Then why not ask Z23 or someone else to help you out with some of the work?"

"Nah, there's no need for that," he said, heading for the door "they've got their own work to do."

Outside of the hospital, he put his head against the cold wall, feeling some degree of relief. But he couldn't stay here for long and headed back to his office, ready to continue his work.

**00000000000000**

It was three days since his attempt at using the Wisdom Cubes to bring back the Azur Lane, a task that ended in failure. This in turn had the ripple effect among the many high-ranking members of the fleet, who started to question whether or not the failure was an honest failure or the signs of something else.

This was why, Enterprise, Yorktown, Illustrious, Wales, Eugen, Z23, Akagi, Roon and Saint Louis were now in a meeting room. As far as the rest of the fleet was concerned, everything was going on smoothly. They all thought it best not to mention anything about the Wisdom Cubes or the Commander's failed attempts so that the morale wasn't affected.

"Belfast isn't coming," said Wales, getting the obvious out of the way "in fact, she hasn't really spoken to anyone for the past few days and has confined herself to her room."

"She confronted him about his motives," said Enterprise "the Commander didn't take it too well and lashed out at her. It'd make sense that she was hurt by what he said."

"This doesn't feel right," said Z23.

"What doesn't?" asked Saint Louis.

"Suspecting him," she replied "after everything that's happened."

"That's rich," said Eugen with a scoff "coming from you of all people."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, turning to her sister.

"Oh come on, Z, you're the last person that's ever spoken nicely about him," she said "you hated him from the start. In fact, I remember when we first came back, you actively avoided being in the same room with him."

"I know that I haven't been supportive of him," said Z23, looking guilty "but the more I think about it, the more I see it was unfair of me to blame him for Hood's death."

"This just doesn't sit right with me," said Yorktown, getting up from her seat "after everything that's happened, us doubting the Commander is unfair and I don't want to be part of this any longer."

"I agree with Yorktown on this," said Saint Louis "my lord would never act in his own interest."

"Then can you explain why it didn't work?" asked Wales "why the Wisdom Cubes responded the first time but it didn't work this time around?"

"It's because they didn't want to come back," replied Akagi.

"What?" asked Illustrious "how do you know that?"

"Because when I spoke to him, the Commander told me the conclusion to a story; a story that only three people in the world know about. Now I know that Kaga and I never told him anything about that, so the only way he knew what to say was if he heard it from Amagi."

"I'll admit that I doubted him for a moment," she added "it was a mistake that I'll never forget. But what we're doing now is wrong, plain and simple. You can all sit here and debate his motives for all I care."

"I am going to help him win the war," she said and left the room. After her, Yorktown, Roon and Saint Louis also left.

"As much as I don't like to admit it, I agree with Akagi," said Enterprise "we're not doing anyone any favors doubting him after everything that's happened."

With that both Enterprise and Yorktown left the room as well.

**00000000000000**

Meanwhile, the Commander was marching through the forest behind the base, looking for someone. It didn't take long for him to find a cliff, where Friedrich was stoically standing and watching the scenery.

"Hello Commander," she said addressing him, even though she didn't turn around to see him.

"How did you…"

"Just a guess," she said, turning around now "is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes," he said, walking up to her "Friedrich, what I'm about to say might sound crazy but please bear with me."

Understanding the seriousness of the matter, Friedrich's usually warm smile left her.

"Last night, I had a dream where I met Hood, Amagi and Bismarck. In our conversation, they told me that the history everyone talks about is wildly different from what actually happened."

"They're right," said Friedrich followed by a pause "Commander, what I'm about to tell you…"

"Of course, I won't breathe a word of it to anyone else."

"Then please, have a seat," she said and the two sat at the edge of the cliff.

"What you heard was right," she began "the Azur Lane was formed with the idea of defeating the Sirens and bringing everyone together. But the question of how to beat the Sirens was something none of them could agree upon."

"Jean Bart and Bismarck agreed in an outright attack, Avrora sought to slowly chip away at their forces and Amagi and Atago thought seven times before making any moves."

"If they were divided then why didn't they have their separate teams and each team go about doing their own thing?"

"How would that be any different from the factions you see during this war? Instead of being a single, unified threat, they'd became smaller and less threatening. In that situation, the Sirens need only send a large enough force and permanently wipe out one group."

"The six of them struggled to get anything done and were often close to disbanding," she continued "but in front of the troops, they showed a degree of unity or else morale would suffer."

"That is why I believed that when the Sirens returned, instead of repeating the past, Hood decided the best option was to bring someone in not from our world and let that person be solely in charge of the fleet. And, it had to be someone who wasn't from the factions so their choices would not be influenced."

"And out of everyone in my world, I was chosen for some reason."

"I prefer to think of it in another way," said Friedrich "remember that the one chosen would be the leader of all four factions. Power like that, is dangerous if it was used for the wrong purposes."

"For example, Commander," she said, turning to him "you could have easily used your power and influence to have done what you wanted. Perhaps even use your power to create a harem like the kings of your history had done."

"Don't be so surprised by this," she said, when his eyes widened, "I've read many books that happen to come from your world and I've seen how power can change a person's mind. Power corrupts and the last thing this we need during a war, is to be led by some power mad zealot who only seeks to further his own goals."

"I'll admit that when I first met you, there was a….. personal interest. But when we came here, I asked around seeing if the person who saved us is the same person that the fleet sees. And do you know the only negative thing everyone had to say about you?"

He shook his head at the question.

"'He keeps trying to be a leader that we respect, but hasn't realized we already respect him.' Turns out the only mistake you have is being unaware of how much you've grown. Compared to being a zealot or a madman, I'd say that's a pretty decent fault to have."

"Then again," she said, looking up at the sky "this is simply the thoughts and musings of an old woman. How you choose to take my advice is up to you."

"Friedrich, I don't think you're old," he said, "sure you're a lot taller than anyone else here but not old, definitely not old."

"Oh Commander," she said, resting her head on his shoulder "you keep saying such sweet things to me and I might just eat you up."

At this, the Commander let out an awkward laugh "nice one," he said, in an effort to ease the tension.

"I wasn't joking."

**00000000000000000**

The images flashed through her mind in a blind flurry. They may have passed by her quickly, but there was a tone and purpose behind the pictures. Each one of them was a grizzly depiction of war and the devastation it left in its wake. She saw families clinging to their dead, buildings of safety and sanctity reduced to rubble, rows and rows of long plastic bags being thrown into ditches and the massive fireballs that formed from explosions.

There was no one else in the room, there was no one else to see the sweat on her head or that she was twisting and writhing in pain.

As the images continued flashing by, she remembered what they were, what their purpose was. They were not unfamiliar scenes playing out, they were memories. Memories that dictated the path in life she would go down. For a time, she had repressed those memories…. but not anymore.

Alice slowly opened her eyes and looked from side to side. It was a good thing no one was there. Now that she knew she was alone, she rose up and took in a deep breath.

She knew what her purpose was in this world and why she came here. As she gazed out the window, the color of her eyes changing to reflect her new purpose, she thought about how she would set about accomplishing her task.

**0000000000000000000**

The next day, the Commander was making his usual rounds through the base, when he heard the base alarms going off.

"Attention Commander," said Tennessee's voice through the speakers "Houston and South Hampton request you to come to the beach. An unknown female has washed up on the shore."

Concerned by this, he headed towards the beach and was soon joined by Enterprise and Belfast. When the trio reached their destination, they saw Houston and South Hampton standing on either side of the woman.

The woman that had washed up on shore had short, silver hair, wore on a variation to the maid uniform that Beflast used, had a short skirt, long leggings and dark pink eyes.

'Well she's definitely not a human,' he thought, upon noticing her choice of clothing.

"Dido?" called out Belfast and marching towards her.

"Dido?" he said, turning to her.

"Miss Belfast," cried out the woman, coming forward and pulling Belfast into a tight hug. This caught Belfast by surprise and resulted in her falling back.

"Miss Belfast," said the woman, hugging her "I missed you so much."

"Dido, please get off me," said Belfast "you realize we're in the company of others."

Dido tilted her head back and froze for a moment, upon noticing Enterprise, South Hampton and Houston. Then, her attention turned to the Commander.

"Is she a friend of yours Belfast?" he asked.

"Yes, she was under my care when I was leading the Royal Maid Squad," she replied, finally freeing herself from Dido's hug.

The Commander paused for a moment, his mind focusing on the last few words Belfast said. Now, trying not to think too much about a group of women dressed in maid outfits and acting like spies, he turned to Dido and asked, "are you hurt?"

In life, making a good first impression is important. It can help you at a job interview and more often than not, many people are judged based on the first impression they make.

Take the Commander for example and the first impression he made to certain members of the fleet.

To Enterprise, he appeared as a strong and tough man, able to hold his own even against an incredibly strong opponent.

On the flipside, there was Akagi, who thought of him as un-assuming, bland and forgettable when she first saw him.

First impressions are important and when Dido looked at him, what she was a man with beautiful, flowing hair, deep black eyes she could stare into forever and a voice that made her heart beat faster.

"Are you okay?" he asked, stretching out his hand to her, unaware of the impression he was leaving on the woman.

"Dido, get off me," said Belfast.

Realizing she was staring too long, Dido snapped out of her daze and quickly got to her feet, also allowing her superior to get to her feet too.

"Commander," said Dido "we need your help."

Elaborating on this, she reached in-between her chest and took out a small, circular object, similar to an ice hockey puck. The Commander was about to take it when he felt the piercing gaze of both Enterprise and Belfast bearing down on him.

He instinctually held back, but then realized that if he didn't take the object, he couldn't help her. But if he took the object, there's no telling what the pair would do.

Resigning himself to the fates, he took the object from Dido and examined it. As he did, he saw a holographic projection emerge from the object. It showed a young girl, dressed in very formal attire, wearing a crown.

"Greetings Commander of the Coalition fleet," she declared "I am Queen Elizabeth of the Royal-Dragon Alliance and I have a proposal for you."

Just as he was about to answer, she spoke, indicating that this was a recorded message.

"My Royal Maid Squad have tracked down the location of a large Siren facility. We believe that they were using this facility in order to help their ships teleport themselves to anywhere on the planet."

The Commander, Belfast, Enterprise, Dido, South Hampton and Houston watched as Queen Elizabeth sat on a chair and said "So, how would you like to deal a heavy blow against the Sirens?"


	29. Royal Greeting

Her name was Dido, head of the Royal Maid Squad and the Royal Navy's strongest group of fighters. Originally, the group was headed by Belfast as she personally trained all twelve of them. But when the Siren's attacked once again, Belfast died in the initial attack and the position of the leader became vacant.

After hearing the proposal from Queen Elizabeth, the Commander had Dido sent to the hospital for a checkup and then met with the high-ranking members of his fleet and replayed the message.

One of the greatest dangers the Siren forces posed was their ability to literally appear from nowhere, which was form of teleportation technology. This came about after a small fleet of Siren ships came to this world incognito and built a technological superstructure called an 'anchor.' As the name implies, the anchor allows the Siren fleet to freely move about the world without expending energy and creating the ever-present threat that they could attack at any time.

The Royal Navy had amassed a considerably large fleet and were about to attack the superstructure, but the Sirens were a step ahead of them, ambushing their forces and severely weakening their combat capabilities.

Which was why the Queen sent Dido to the headquarters of the Coalition fleet requesting their assistance. Together, the Queen and the Commander would launch a joint assault on the Siren device and take away their biggest advantage.

"She mentioned Dragon," said the Commander, after hearing the brief.

"That must be the Dragon Empry," said Wales, "the two sides must have formed an alliance."

"I don't recall there any mention of this faction," he said.

"Because there aren't that many members there to call it a faction," said Yorktown.

"An Shan, Fu Shun, Chang Chun, Tai Yuan, Ning Hai and Ping Hai," said Akagi, counting off each member on her fingers "the six of them are led by Yat Sen."

"Very well," he said, leaning forward "for this mission, I'll be taking Saint Louis, Neptune, Kaga and Tirpitz."

"What?" shouted everyone in the room, Akagi's voice being louder than the rest.

"Given how much all of you have been on missions one after another," he said, standing up "I need you all rested and refreshed. That is all."

"But Commander," said Akagi.

"I've already sent a message to Kaga, she should be arriving shortly. With her here, I need you to go back to the Island Akagi," he added, walking out the door.

"I swear you all do more harm than good," spat Akagi before stomping out the door, most probably to chase after the Commander.

The room became silent after that. The line up chosen was considerably different from what he normally used and there was good reason.

"No," said Belfast, clenching her fists "I am not letting this go on any further."

With that said, she marched out the door.

"She is right," said Illustrious, also standing up then turning to Wales. "we started this. It's only right we end this."

Wales nodded and the two went out of the meeting room.

"Commander," Akagi called out to him, while in the hallways.

"Why are you sending me back to the Island?" she asked as he turned around.

He was about to answer when he saw Belfast, Illustrious and Wales also coming to him.

"Akagi I really do want you to rest," he said putting a hand on her shoulder "you've been a part of nearly every mission we've undertaken. I want you to rest. You've earned it."

"But…"

"With the Royal Navy we are now one step away from the final fight. Once this mission is over I'll be committing everyone we've got into attacking the Siren forces. And when that time comes, I need you fresh, ready and focused Akagi."

On one hand she had to agree with him. Resting now and preparing for later was the strategic move. It made sense strategically. Yet emotionally, the last thing she needed right now was to have any distance between her and the Commander.

But she could see that his mind was made up.

"Fine," she said, lowering her head in defeat "but I'm coming back here the moment the mission's over."

"I understand," he said and Akagi left.

"And what about us Commander?" asked Belfast.

He turned his attention to Belfast, Wales and Illustrious. This was honestly not the time to be having that conversation.

Despite his fiasco with the Wisdom Cubes, the only one that was angry at him was Akagi. That no one else in the fleet approached him and voiced their opinion on the matter told him that only a select few in the fleet knew about this. It didn't take long for him to figure out who withheld the information and which ones doubted his motives.

He first ruled out Hornet and Cleveland. Cleveland was a good girl but she's only come to a few meetings. She wasn't yet part of the inner circle. Next was Hornet, she was simply too much of a good-natured person to doubt or suspect him. Yorktown and Enterprise were free and clear as well. Z23 and Eugen were next in his mind but since he had the approval of their family, they wouldn't doubt him. Aside from that were the PR class of ships but they were something like Akagi, in that the six were loyal to him.

Which meant that the only ones to suspect him were Wales, Illustrious and Belfast. Considering their personalities, Illustrious and Wales felt hesitant to speak their minds, which meant that Belfast had to take the hit for them.

Perhaps they felt bad, perhaps the others told them off, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Right now, he needed to be focused on one thing and this was a diversion he did not need. Yet, the fact that they were here meant that they felt bad and wanted a chance.

"Akagi's going to kill me when she finds out," he muttered to himself "fine you're coming as well."

"And Belfast, stop by the hospital to check up on Dido. If she's able, then bring her along too."

Belfast nodded and went to the hospital while Illustrious and Wales went to their rooms and prepared. It took all of twenty minutes for the team to assemble outside, near the beach shore.

"Having trouble Tirpitz?" he asked.

"Apologies Commander," she said, "up in the north there's not much sun, only snow. So much of the sun is…. strange."

Just then, he saw Belfast coming, along with Dido.

"Apologies Commander," said Belfast "Dido insisted on coming along."

"Please Commander," said Dido "I can help."

"Fine, but if a fight breaks out, let the others handle it. Only join in unless absolutely necessary."

Dido nodded and the group set out.

**00000000000000**

Dido gave them the location; they were to head South. It would take a total of two days to get there and two days to return. Along the journey, he took a little time to recall what he knew about the Royal Navy.

They were similar to the Eagle Union, in terms of numbers. But, while the EU had aircraft carrier aces like Enterprise, Hornet, Long Island and Ranger, the Royal Navy had powerful battleships like Warspite, Queen Elizabeth, Repulse, Renown and Wales. Then there was the recent knowledge of the Royal Maid Squad. If this was a group that Belfast personally led, then they'd also be a boon. Lastly, there's the Dragon Empry, an as of yet unknown group.

He shook his mind in order to get rid of all those thoughts. He was making the mistake of putting the cart before the horse. Right now, he needed to first get rid of the Sirens and then think about what he's to do later on.

Although no one said much during the journey, there was a palpable tension in the air. The Royal Navy was the last faction in the world that wasn't yet recruited. With them joining the Coalition fleet, the war would progress to its final stages.

**000000000000000**

After two days of travel, shifting from using Wales' and Illustrious' ship to reduce fuel usage, the team finally arrived at their designated location. Belfast, Wales and Illustrious got off first, followed by Kaga and Tirpitz with the Commander being the last to step onto the island.

He was flanked on either side by Neptune and Saint Louis, who looked like there were walking pretty close to him.

"No Commander," said Neptune, cutting off what the Commander was about to say "Saint Louis and I will not give you any space as it is our job to keep a close eye on you at all times."

"Neptune speaks the truth my Lord," added Saint Louis "your safety is our priority."

Their conversation was cut short when the team noticed half a dozen siren ships teleporting above them. There were three cruisers and three destroyers and all ships wasted little time in turning their guns onto the team.

"Everyone scatter," he called out and the team ran off in different directions, avoiding the initial barrage.

"Time to put these new improvements to the test," said Kaga, forming her run way and firing a few airplanes at the ships. She was delighted to see them do considerable damage to the enemy cruiser. Kaga expected to see the ship turn its guns and attack her, but instead, it's attacks were focused on the Commander.

In fact, all six ships were only going after the Commander.

"Oh come on I'm the least threatening one here," he shouted upon seeing this.

"What's going on?" asked Belfast, "why are they only going after him?"

"Because the Siren fleet knows how dangerous he is," said another voice.

The group turned around and saw a young, blonde-haired girl wielding a broadsword come out from hiding in the bushes.

"That otherworlder is responsible for the deaths of two of their leaders and has steadily slowed down their invasion progress. As such, the fleets are ordered to prioritize him as a high value target."

"Arrogant fools," chided Saint Louis, unleashing a barrage of fire onto a cruiser and sent it crashing into the ground.

"There's no need to pursue them," said the blonde-haired girl.

With that said, the team noticed multiple unseen figures emerge from the bushes and trees. The figures then formed their weapons and launched coordinated attacks on all the Siren ships, greatly damaging them.

"I can't let Louis outshine me," said Neptune to herself as she dug her trident into the side of a Siren destroyer and ran along the length of the ship, landing a deep cut. Then she leapt off and fired into the hole she created, downing the destroyer.

The Commander noticed three women positioned ahead of him. One looked almost similar to Dido, except this woman had a large sword behind her. The second maid was a raven-haired beauty that looked like a traditional Victorian-era maid. The third was dressed similar to the second maid, except she had long, purple hair, which was braided up.

"Sirius, Curacoa and Curlew," said Belfast, "which means the rest of the Squad are here too."

The trio leapt over the Commander with the Dido lookalike attacking a Siren destroyer near him with a single swing of her sword. The other two attacked the destroyer along the side of it's body and sending it crashing downwards.

Two of the six ships that remained quickly teleported out of the area. Seeing this, the Commander sighed in relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Now that the threat was taken care of, he reunited with the rest of the team.

"Not two minutes you're here and you're already causing a ruckus," said one figure, emerging from the forest. It seemed like Belfast, Illustrious and Wales knew who was speaking as they immediately bowed their heads.

The rest of the team now saw another short, blond-haired girl emerge, wearing on a long black dress, with a patch of white sticking out at the ends, holding a scepter and had a small crown on her head.

"Hello Commander," she said, "you're a lot shorter than I expected."

"Greetings Queen Elizabeth," he said, bowing to her "thank you for coming to the aid of my team."

"Think nothing of it," she said, sounding a little haughty "we must all work together in this time of need."

"I hope my subordinates haven't caused you too much trouble," she added, turning to the three former members of her fleet.

"They have all formed an essential part of my fleet," he said "if possible, I'd like it if we can continue this discussion at your base."

"Agreed," she said, then turned to the blond-haired girl with a sword "Warspite, accompany our guests back to base. The rest of us shall go on ahead."

The one called Warspite nodded in agreement.

"Wow," said Neptune as Queen Elizabeth and the group that accompanied her vanished, heading back to their base "I guess that was the Royal Maid Squad we heard about."

"Their teamwork is incredible," said Saint Louis, "throughout their operation, they protected their Queen. I must strive to reach that level as well."

"Commander," said Warspite "please come with me."

The team followed Warspite. It wasn't long before they came upon a forest encampment. The first thing that they noticed was how many girls were covered in bandages or were being administered some medicine.

"Warspite," he called out and the girl turned.

"Does my team need to be with me when I meet Queen Elizabeth and Lady Yat Sen?"

Warspite paused for a moment, then said "not necessary Commander. But it would be good if you were accompanied by at least one member of your fleet."

"Then I shall accompany him," said Wales, speaking before Belfast could say anything and before the Commander could object.

"The rest of you," he said turning to his team "spread out and see if you can help."

With that done, he turned back to Warspite and alongside Wales, the trio headed into a large tent. Inside he saw a long red carpet, flanked on either side by members of the Royal Maid Squad. At the end of the carpet stood Queen Elizabeth and alongside her was a woman with long-black hair. This was either Yat Sen or a representative of the Dragon Empry.

"You're late," declared Queen Elizabeth "it's not in good form to keep two ladies waiting."

"Apologies," he said "I had requested my team to help tend to the wounded and injured."

"Hmm," said Queen Elizabeth "very well, I will ignore your tardiness in light of your deeds."

"And Prince of Wales," she added, turning to the woman beside the Commander "when last I saw you, you and Illustrious were holding the line for the rest of us to escape. I thought you died."

"I did," said Wales "but then, the Commander was able to bring Illustrious, Unicorn and I back to life. Since then, the three of us have been fighting with him to help combat the Siren threat."

"It would seem I am already in your debt Commander," said Queen Elizabeth.

"Think nothing of it. You mentioned that you planned on attacking a Siren superstructure. What can you tell me about that?"

"Quick to business I see," said Yat Sen "I am Yat Sen of the Dragon Empry. I apologize for not introducing myself right away."

Queen Elizabeth clapped her hands. At once, some of the maids brought out a wooden table, another brought out a map with a few markings and a few of them provided folders to Queen Elizabeth, Yat Sen and the Commander. Once that was done, they left the tent.

The mega structure in question looked similar to a futuristic building seen in sci-fi movies. The top of the building arched down, allowing multiple radars and antennae to stick out. At the base of it were platforms or docks for the Siren ships to land.

"Wales," he said "you should go as well. There must be a few friends who will be glad to see you're alive and well."

"Are you sure Commander?" asked Wales.

"Relax, this is just a strategy meeting."

Nodding to him then bowing to Elizabeth and Yat Sen and left the tent.

"This is the location of the superstructure," said Queen Elizabeth "my maids have located certain structural weaknesses that we could use to destroy the device."

"We had hoped that you would bring a considerable group with you Commander," added Yat Sen.

"May I ask why?"

"Come tomorrow," said Queen Elizabeth "we'll be launching an all-out attack on the superstructure. In the midst of the attack, I'll have a secondary team go after the weak points in the device."

"But in that scenario, you'll likely take heavy casualties."

"It is…. a necessary risk."

"But many of you are already injured," he added "how did that happen?"

"That is because of this Siren," she said and opened the folder. Yat Sen and the Commander did the same and saw a picture of a Siren.

A girl wearing a long white, coat. What was interesting about this was that the girl's skin color and hair was as white as the clothes she wore. She was flanked on either side by two large cannons. Behind her, was a large-blue jellyfish. All things considered, she looked like one of those unique types, one of the three that Akagi mentioned.

"That is Observer Zero and she's made it her life's mission to wipe out the Royal Navy," said Queen Elizabeth "she's been relentlessly pursuing us for days on end, only giving us the smallest of opportunities to rest and recover."

"Many of the injured you see out there was thanks to her efforts," added Yat Sen.

"We have no doubt that she'll also be at this structure," said Queen Elizabeth "if we attack, we'll take out two of their best weapons in one shot.

"Then you're still facing the same problem," he said "most of your troops are injured, tired or hungry. Asking them to fight against a prepared opponent will most likely end in a massacre."

At this, Queen Elizabeth and Yat Sen looked at each other.

"Forgive me if I overstep my bounds," he said "but what if I can find a way to achieve our objective without the loss of life?"

"Impossible," said Yat Sen "Ning Hai, Ping Hai and An Shan have probed that area for weeks, the structure is heavily guarded and there is no possible way to infiltrate the area."

"Ten minutes," he said "just give me ten minutes to go over the map. If I can't find anything in ten minutes, then we'll go ahead with your plan."

The two nodded to each other and took a step back.

At once, the Commander started going through the map and reading about everything he could on the device, the island and the special Siren that waited. Their patrols were tight, their security was flawless; there was no way of getting in without being detected.

Then there's the other problem. The device's units will be bolstered by the arrival of Observer Zero and her troops. All in all, this looked like a dangerous mission.

That was when he noticed something on the left side of the island. Upon seeing this, the gears in his mind started turning and now a plan formed.

"Elizabeth, Yat Sen," he called out.

"That's Queen Elizabeth," she said, as the two came back to the table.

"Have you found it?" asked Yat Sen.

"Indeed, I have," he said "let's show the Sirens how dangerous this world can be."


	30. Maid and Master

The first thing he asked from them was a list of the members of the Royal Maid Squad. With that in hand, it didn't take long for him to outline his pain to Queen Elizabeth and Yat Sen. He also suggested troop placement in order to maximize results. At times, the two voiced their doubts but after hearing his explanation, they were content with the plan.

Now that all three of them were in agreement, Yat Sen left the tent, enacting her part of the plan. After she left, the Royal Maid Squad and the team that accompanied the Commander came inside.

"See," whispered Dido to Sirius "I told you he looks good in black."

"Yes," said Sirius, as the rest of the squat stood around the table "I see what you mean."

"Well Commander," asked Illustrious "what sort of crazy plan have you concocted?"

"As we speak, Yat Sen is gathering the rest of her team. Once she's done that, they'll gather the wounded and head towards my base."

"But Commander," said the maid with purple-braided hair "if we send them back the way you came, they're sure to be attacked."

"Good observation Curlew. They will get attacked, which is why I told Yat Sen to take the longer route, going over multiple islands and hiding themselves."

"Kaga," he said, turning to her "I'd like it if you joined them and helped. When you're back at the base, contact Akagi and inform her we'll be sending some of the injured to her."

"Yes Commander," said Kaga, nodding.

"As for the rest of us, we're going to launch a simultaneous attack here," he said, pointing to the superstructure

"And here," he added, pointing to a large body of water on the island.

"Hmm?" asked the maid with short, ash-colored hair "but that's a lake."

"Not just a lake Sheffield, an elevated lake," he said.

"Team one will consist of Saint Louis, Neptune, Edinburgh, Gloucester, Kent, Suffolk, Newcastle, Curacoa, Curlew, Glasgow, Warspite and Elizabeth."

"That's Queen Elizabeth," countered her majesty.

"You are to attack the superstructure. Stick to long range attacks and keep moving at all times. Your job is to keep the enemy distracted. Do not engage them at any cost."

"The second team consists of Belfast, Wales, Illustrious, Tirpitz, Sirius, Dido and Sheffield. Your job is to head to the base of this lake."

The commander went on to explain that the lake was located on top of a plateau and was conveniently located near the edge of said plateau. The second team's job was to fire a barrage into the middle of the plateau, causing it to break apart and flood the area down below. Because of the lake's elevated position, it would crash into the Siren ships, the superstructure and the unique Siren type, shattering their ranks and destroying the defenses built around the device.

"When the plateau's about to burst, get out of there and alert the second team," he said "you have about twenty to twenty-five seconds to get out of the area."

"By the time the flood's emptied out into the sea, team one will attack the superstructure while team two picks off any Sirens that survived the flood."

"I'm really hoping that damned Observer survives," said Gloucester, cracking her knuckles "just so we can take her down."

"Does everyone understand their positions?" he asked and they all shook their heads.

"Any doubts?" he asked and Belfast raised her hand up.

"Where will you be in the middle of all this Commander?"

"Right, sorry. I forgot to mention that. I'll be the second team."

"Anything else?" he asked and everyone in the room shook their heads.

"The attack will commence at dawn," said Queen Elizabeth "now go rest and prepare for the mission. Dismissed."

**0000000000000000**

As per Queen Elizabeth's instructions, the team inside dispersed. Outside, the Commander met with Kaga and Yat Sen.

"Sorry Kaga," he said "bringing you all the way back here and then sending you away…"

"It is fine Commander," she said, "what matters to me is helping the fleet."

He nodded then turned to Yat Sen and said "You can trust Kaga to keep you safe at all times."

"I shall," she said "thank you Commander."

"Don't thank me just yet, we still have a fight to win."

After seeing them leave, the Commander met with Tirpitz, who was sitting quietly under a tree and looking at the night sky through the small openings in the forest canopy.

"Hello Commander," she said, addressing him.

"I hope all of this hasn't been too much on you," he said, standing against the tree.

"Not at all," she said "the change in weather is admittedly a lot to take in, but it's growing on me."

**00000000000000**

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Illustrious, worrying for Belfast's safety.

"I'm fine," she said, not minding the fact that all twelve members of the Royal Maid Squad were hugging her tightly "it has been a long time and I am happy to see them."

"This is a really good day," said Suffolk "now that our leader Belfast is here, we're sure to win."

"And after that," said Kent "you can come back home."

"Yes that would be nice," added Dido.

"Unfortunately, girls I don't plan on coming back to the Royal Navy," said Belfast.

"I've found my place as the Commander's official maid," she added.

This was then followed by the rest of the Squad trying to convince Belfast to come back to the Royal Navy, while Wales and Illustrious watched quietly and chuckled at the sight.

**00000000000000**

When day came, the teams set off to complete their part of the mission. Team one took their positions around the Siren device and waited for the order.

"All forces," declared Queen Elizabeth, "attack the Sirens."

With that, the attack began as Team one fired a stead barrage on the Siren ships, destroying many of the ships that were patrolling the area. This was followed by an alarm blaring, followed by many more Siren ships emerging around the superstructure, ready to defend it.

Warspite, Saint Louis and Neptune were on the front line. The continually fired at the Siren ships, while taking out any ship that came too close, with their melee weapons. Edinburgh, Gloucester, Kent, Suffokl, Newcastle, Curacao, Curlew and Glasgow strafed from left to right, attacking their targets in a quick burst of fire. At the rear was Queen Elizabeth, who bombarded the enemy with her long-range cannons.

**00000000000000**

Enroute to their destination, Team two heard the sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance and knew that the attack had commenced.

"We're taking too long to get there," called out Tirpitz.

"It's because of me," said the Commander "you guys are purposely lowering your speed so that I can keep up with you."

"Thank you, but now isn't the time for consideration," he added "go. Now."

Considering the urgency of the mission, the team nodded, increasing their speed and putting some distance between them and him. As much as he tried to run faster, his training could not completely cover the difference in power.

Team two reached their location, but were hit with an immediate problem.

"Commander," said Belfast.

"Hold your hand up to the plateau," he said, as if knowing what they were calling him for.

"Now point your index finger to the top of the plateau and point your finger to the bottom," he continued "do you see that part where your thumb touches?"

"Yes Commander,"

"That's the target," he said.

Still keeping her index finger and thumb in the same positions, Belfast formed her weapons and fired at the location. Her artillery blew out a small portion of the plateau.

"There," she said, pointing to the small hole on the side of the plateau "That's where we strike."

**00000000000000**

"Commander," shouted Queen Elizabeth.

"What's wrong?"

"We've been hitting the Sirens for some time now," she continued while Warspite cut through a Siren ship with her sword.

"Yet I haven't seen anything from that Observer Zero."

"I wouldn't say that's a bad thing," he said.

"That very much is a bad thing," shouted Dido "If she's not around the device then she must be somewhere else."

"Which is why it's not a bad thing," repeated the Commander.

"How is that not a bad thing?" shouted Queen Elizabeth.

"Because the Commander found her," interjected Belfast.

**0000000000000**

Observer Zero observed the Commander for a moment, then let out a condescending chuckle.

"You're not at all what I expected," she said "I thought you'd be more… terrifying."

"I haven't had my morning coffee yet, that might be why."

"Hmm this is odd," she said, tilting her head "aren't you normally accompanied by a gaggle of loyal idiots?"

"Oh those guys? Nah I ditched them. Being a commander is a real pain in my ass, so I decided to ditch the whole thing and become a pirate. I plan to fight on the high seas, steal treasures, sail the grand line and find one piece."

"Hey," he said, as if struck by an idea "you can be my navigator."

At this, Observer Zero shot one of her tentacles at him. He swiftly moved to the side, avoiding the attack.

"Fine, fine, not my navigator: you can be my first mate but anything else and I might look bad."

The Siren fired again at him and he dodged by rolling to his left side. The Commander then got back to his feet and drew his sword.

"So much for diplomacy," he said and attacked the Siren head on.

Observer Zero fired at him with the cannons on her side but he leapt up and dodged. In the air, he threw his sword at her but she dodged it by moving to her left. The Commander hit the ground near Observer, grabbed her foot before she got too far away and threw her into a few trees.

"I take back my first impressions of you," she said, getting to her feet. She then attacked with a barrage of tentacles that randomly hit the area around the Commander. Although he dodged some of them, one of the tentacles came too close and he could not avoid it. This sent him staggering back, allowing another tentacle to grab him and hoist him up.

Observer wasted no time in ramming him into the ground three times then flinging him into one of the trees as well. She waited for a few minutes and saw him getting back to his feet.

"You could have hit me when I'm down," he said, shaking off some dust on his body.

"Now that would be a filthy thing to do. One such as I would never resort to something as dirty as that," said Observer Zero, with a condescending smile.

"That's nice."

"And I do what you alive so I can learn everything about your fleet."

"I take back what I said."

**00000000000000000**

"We have to get back there and help him," said Dido turning around and heading to the Commander's location.

"No," called out Belfast.

"What?" she asked

"You have a job to do Dido"

"But he's…."

"The Commander is doing his job so that we can do ours," barked Belfast.

Dido saw the expression on Belfast's face. It was the same as Wales, Illustrious and Tirpitz. Facing a Siren, especially a unique type like Observer Zero was not something you could do alone. They wanted to help, but the plan hinged on the second team causing the flood. The Commander was facing the Siren alone in order to buy the team the time they needed.

**00000000000000000**

Observer Zero chuckled as she saw the Commander rise to his feet for the seventh time.

"Your resilience is commendable otherworlder but you realize this is a losing battle. You can never hope to overcome the almighty power of the Siren race."

"I'm still going to try though," he said, breaking into a run and coming directly at her. Observer Zero attacked with tentacles and cannons but he ducked and weaved through the barrage of attacks. When he was close though, he suddenly leapt to the side, catching her by surprise. This caused Observer a momentary lapse of judgement which the Commander capitalized on by landing a thin cut on the side of her.

"You," she said, looking at the wound "how dare you."

"Hmm?"

"HOW DARE YOU," she screamed and fired a barrage of bullets with twice the ferocity.

"You got a mouth on you," he mused, avoiding the barrage. Observer let out a fierce roar as she continually attacked the Commander with her tentacles. Try as he might, he could not dodge them all and one managed to hit him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Don't you dare die on me," she said, grabbing him by the neck and slowly strangling him "there are still many more ways I want to hurt you."

He twirled his sword and cut off the tentacle holding him then darted to the Siren. She fired at him but he nimbly strafed from left to right, avoiding the attacks. When he was close, he landed another cut on Observer then leapt back.

"I dare say, red looks good on you," he said, with a smug smile.

"I swear I'll suck the marrow out of your bones when this is over," she shouted and attacked him again and again.

**00000000000000000**

After a steady barrage of fire from Tirpitz and Wales, further backed by Sirius, Dido, Belfast, Illustrious and Sheffield, the team noticed a stream of water emerging from the target area.

Sirius was about to fire again but Belfast stopped her. The team watched the stream get larger, till another stream burst out. Then there were three streams.

"This is Belfast to Team one and Commander. The mission is a success."

The streams grew larger and larger till the side of the plateau burst open and the flood came down.

"I repeat," said Belfast getting out of the immediate area "the mission was a success."

**00000000000000000**

"This has been a very pleasant event," he said, struggling to break free "but I really should get going."

"I'm going to enjoy breaking you," said Observer Zero, administering a powerful electric shock to the Commander.

"Quick question," he said, looking in the direction Team Two went, "can you swim?"

Observer Zero had no time to answer as she saw a large body of water, dirt, trees and plenty of debris barreling towards the two of them. She tried to take to the skies, but the water was faster, enveloping the pair of them in seconds.

**000000000000000000**

"Does anyone have eyes on the Commander?" asked Belfast.

"He must still be with Observer Zero," suggested Illustrious "but if that's the case, the two of them…"

"I have to go save him," declared Belfast, staring at the water speeding down to the Siren device.

"Miss Belfast, are you crazy?" shouted Dido, coming forward to try and stop her, but it was too late. The maid had plunged into the water, intent on returning with her master.

In her first life, she was the head of the Royal Maid Squad. Many depended on her and looked up to her. She did her duties diligently which earned her the respect and admiration of her peers. However there were times when the weight of her position tended to get the better of her. She sometimes spent too long making a decision about something for fear of making a mistake and losing her standing.

Then she died.

Her second life came about when she heard the voice of a person calling out in the darkness. He was strong, competent and honest. Belfast took up her role as his official maid and helped him a little with his day-to-day activities.

During this time, she felt at ease serving him and tending to him. Belfast felt as if she could make mistakes and he would not punish or look down on her for it. As a result, she unknowingly opened up to him in her own way, doting on him in a manner that only those closest to her would see it as a sign of affection.

As time passed and he grew stronger, Belfast saw how others began looking up to him and developing a sense of admiration towards him. Initially she was content with standing behind and watching him grow. She felt that that was her duty. Yet as time passed, her feeling changed. Belfast was no longer content with simply standing behind and watching. She wanted to stand alongside him and help him face any dangers or threats head on.

This was the reason why she was incredibly hurt when he shouted at her. Though it was her job to suss out his motives, being yelled at by someone she had grown to like hurt her emotionally.

She swam through the dirt filled waters with incredible speed, but could not find him. Getting tense and desperate, she was about to go up and take in some air, when she spotted the familiar glint of his sword. Seeing this, Belfast darted to the sword and came upon him, still in the clutches of Observer Zero.

Belfast was terrified to see his eyes were closed and his body was not moving. She quickly blasted off the tentacle attached to him, grabbed the Commander and swam to shore.

"Come on, come on," she said, putting him on the ground and gently pressing his chest. She put her ear close to his nose but saw that he was silent.

"No, no, no," she said, desperately pressing his chest to try and get a reaction "not like this. You can't die like this Commander."

"The world still needs you," she said, hoping her voice would reach him like his voice did "I need you."

Try as she might, nothing happened. Seeing as she had no other choice left, she opened his mouth and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation or as the kids call it 'mouth to mouth.'

Once, twice, thrice. Still nothing. Belfast tried one more time, praying that he would recover. Belfast suddenly saw him cough up water a few times and was instantly relieved.

"Thank goodness," she said, hugging him "I thought that…."

"Thanks for saving me back there Belfast," he said, in-between breaths "that damn Siren was wayyy too clingy for me."

"Now is not the time for jokes master."

"By the way…" he said and paused for a moment "why do my lips taste like strawberry?"

"Maybe…. maybe there was something in the water," she said and quickly turned around, not wanting him to see how red her face was.

Just then the two of them noticed the rest of Team Two coming towards them. As they neared, there was a sudden barrage of cannon fire that halted their advance.

Both groups looked in the direction of the attack and saw Observer Zero floating in the air, looking furious. There were a number of cuts and bruises on her body and her left cannon was badly damaged.

"You'll pay for this," she said, seething with anger "you'll all pay for this."

"By the time I'm through with you, you'll be begging for my forgiveness."

"Lady you need to learn to read the room," said the Commander

"For example, you talk as if you're the one in control of things, when in fact…."

But he did not finish his sentence. He didn't need to as the time he bought allowed Warspite to come up behind her and cut off one of her cannons. Observer Zero spun around and tried to attack but Warspite was already on the ground along with the rest of Team one.

"Let's finish this damn thing off," shouted Belfast as she, the rest of Team two and Team one pelted Observer Zero with a hail of cannon fire and explosions. The teams continued their assault, firing as much as they could at her, till they came to a halt.

Now, everyone looked at the cloud of smoke in the air, wondering how much damage they had done.

"Damn you," said Observer, emerging through the smoke, badly hurt and wounded, yet still alive.

"How?" asked Queen Elizabeth, looking visibly shocked and with good reason.

"You think that this is over?" she said, blood dripping out of her mouth "this isn't over. Not by a long shot."

Then, they noticed a teleportation circle opening up and slowly coming to envelop her.

"You'll rue the day you made an enemy of me," she said "when I return I'll torture you in ways you can't even begin to imagine. I'll peel the skin off your body, I'll make you scream loud enough the whole world will hear you, I'll make you suffer while your friends watch in horror."

As the circle had transferred much of her body, she didn't notice how someone was not listening to her threats and was instead planning what to do next. This was why she was suddenly shocked when she saw the Commander run towards her, while the others looked on in horror.

She thought that he was going to follow her back to her world and try to kill her. It was a foolish move as he may kill her, but her Siren sisters would avenge her death in the most brutal way imaginable.

This was the second time she underestimated him and it would be her last.

As he drew closer, the teleportation circle around Observer had almost closed, with only a small portion open. The Commander reached into the Siren world, grabbed Observer by her neck and yank her back head first into their world.

Observer paused for a moment, her head in one world and her body in another. She wondered why he would do that. Then she saw the hellacious smile on his face and the two shadows near her and realized what happened.

Just a few minutes back during her monologue, the Commander wordlessly communicated to Warspite and Saint Louis to follow his lead. Although the pair did not understand what he was doing, their doubts were quelled when they saw him prevent Observer Zero's escape. One stood on his left, the other stood on his right. They both arched their weapons back and with the speed and ferocity that only they were capable of, they brought their weapons down on the Siren's head.

The teleportation circle had closed now. Saint Louis and Warspite still had their weapons embedded into the ground, evidence of the amount of strength they put into the attack. The rest of the group looked on in shock as their minds tried to comprehend what just happened.

"Did he just…" asked Sheffield

The question was answered when the Commander turned around, holding the twitching head of Observer Zero.

"Saint Louis, Warspite," he said, looking to either of them "damn fine work."

The pair could only smile sheepishly at the compliment.

**000000000000000000000**

"That was pretty hardcore," said Tirpitz to the others "even by Iron Blood standards, it's pretty hardcore to hold someone's head, after you've cut it off."

"I expect nothing less for my Lord," declared Saint Louis, puffing out her chest "he seized the moment and turned a potential loss into a victory for us."

"I don't know about all of you," said Neptune, putting her feet in the water "but I plan on resting for three days after this."

"Is it always like this?" asked Glasgow to Wales "hectic, fast-paced and frantic?"

"Indeed it is," said Wales, "but you get used to it."

"Well done Commander," said Queen Elizabeth patting him on the back "you really came through for us, especially at that last moment."

"Thanks Elizabeth….."

"That's Queen Elizabeth."

"But this was a team effort. Everyone pulled their weight."

"True," she said, looking to the sky "although I will repeat this in a more formal manner alongside Yat Sen, let it be clear that you have my aid in the war. The Royal Navy will help you eliminate the Siren threat once and for all."

"Thank you. I appreciate the help."

"It is good that you came as quickly as you did," she added "when we saw the increase in Siren activity, I thought for sure that Dido might not reach your island on time."

"Wait…" he said, pausing "what did you just say?"

"Dido might not reach you in time? well you saw how long it takes to travel from there to here. We were concerned….."

"No not that," he said, interrupting her "the part before that."

"The increase in Siren activity?"

"Yes, when did that happen?"

"Hmmm. I'm not quite sure."

"Think Queen Elizabeth, think."

"I remember when it picked up," said Warspite "it happened about three weeks ago, give or take a few days in between."

Both Queen Elizabeth and Warspite saw the color drain from the Commander's face. He said nothing, then turned and headed towards Belfast.

"Belfast," he said, in a low tone so that no one else besides her would hear him "we need to get back to the island, quickly."

Belfast turned around and was about to ask why, but when she saw the fear in his eyes and the sweat on his forehead, she knew it was something bad.

**00000000000000000**

Alice adjusted her clothes and gave herself one last look in the mirror.

"Today's the day," she said, smiling at her reflection and was about to head out the door but stopped.

"Oh silly me," she said, playfully and changed the color of her eyes from yellow to black before leaving.


	31. Mastermind

**(AN: WHOOOOOO! 100 followers. Thank you all for showing your love and appreciation.)**

Her infiltration mission was a success. The steps taken were a little too much at first glance, but it was necessary for her to earn their trust and lower their guard. For a brief time, she enjoyed the false identity imposed on her mind, enjoying the peaceful life she had.

But then she saw him and her memories were triggered. It was a slow and painful process, reminding her of who she was and her purpose in this world. With that established, 'Alice' began laying out her plan.

A simple, outright attack was out of the question and would result in her death. The last time her forces attacked with a significantly larger force, they were defeated and that was before the Iron Bloods joined the enemy.

If she were to strike, then she'd have to hit the heart of the fleet. She'd have to take out the top-ranking members of their fleet. She had no choice but to take it slow, as any change or uptick in her personality would warrant some concern.

One good thing about her current situation was that her greatest enemy was nowhere to be seen. When she first arrived, he was recruiting the Iron Blood and recently, he set out on a mission to recruit the Royal Navy.

From her last recollection, she knew that the Royal Navy was being attacked by Observer Zero. If his track record was anything to go by, Observer's fate was sealed. Sad as it was to lose the third one, it was a worthwhile sacrifice, if she could capitalize on the opportunity presented.

Through the nascent dialogue and lines that passed by her room during her stay in the hospital, she was able to get an understanding of the top members in his fleet.

Enterprise, Akagi, Wales, Illustrious, Eugen, Belfast and Z23. They were part of his inner circle and as such, all his plans, ideas and thoughts were first said to them before being disseminated to the rest of the fleet. If she were to leave some lasting damage, she'd have to hit them.

Her first roadblock came when she found out he had taken Illustrious, Belfast and Wales on his mission to recruit the Royal Navy. This problem only grew worse when she also found out that Eugen and Z23 were busy helping their sisters of the Iron Blood build their new home. With her options limited, she thought that perhaps she should change her target.

Following her release from the hospital, she found herself in Yorktown's class, listening to her teach the children. And then she thought about attacking them instead. Nothing kills an enemy's morale better than seeing a bunch of kids dead and dismembered.

The kids were easily the weakest link in the fleet. Yorktown might be a threat to her, but not a considerable one.

"Miss Alice?" asked Kisaragi, noticing that the woman's expression turned serious "is something wrong?"

As she was about to form her weapons, the door to the class opened and Alice shuddered.

"Heya kids," said Izumo, entering the class. Behind her was Ibuki carrying some crayons and books.

"Hello you two," said Yorktown, smiling at them "I see you brought new supplies."

"Yep," said Ibuki "fresh from the Sakura Island. Come on kids."

As the kids crowded around the two of them, Alice scrapped her plan right away. She had to go back to her original plan of going after the fleet's high-ranking members.

"Hmmmm," said Yorktown, noticing Alice leaving "was there something she wanted to do here?"

In the end, this was her best and only option. The only two targets she had were Enterprise and Akagi. But then came the question, how does she get close to them? Simply attacking them even with the element of surprise would not be a viable option as the two had years of experience fighting and were a formidable force when working together.

This was why, she spent the next couple of days cozying up to the two, becoming a friend to both of them. Getting close to Akagi was easy: all Alice needed to do was mention something nice about that Commander and Akagi immediately opened up to her. Through this, Alice found out that the two often met in the morning and had a friendly sparring session. This apparently stemmed from a long-standing rivalry they both had, with neither side gaining an advantage over the other. To make things easier for her, Akagi and Enterprise held their sparring sessions in the nearby forest, a good distance from the base.

Now that she had the place and opportunity, Alice was ready. Today, she accompanied the two to the location, silently watching them fight each other. She noticed when the two of them started, they'd tend to forget about everything else around them, giving their all to defeat their opponent. While this is a sound tactic in general, right now, they were leaving themselves wide open to attack.

Seeing the opportunity, Alice rose up and formed her weapons. Suddenly, her view of them became distorted. She was suddenly rolling on the ground with something grabbing onto her.

"Get the hell…," shouted a familiar voice, followed by a swift kick to the chest, sending her crashing into the ground.

"… away from my girls," barked the Commander, rising to his feet and pointing his sword at Alice.

**To understand how we got to this position, let's rewind the clock back to the start of the day**

San Diego sat on the beach shore, drawing some random squiggles in the sand with her index finger. She sighed. Normally the day started with her doling out one of her songs to an adoring audience, while Neptune dashed around the café, serving them drinks.

One of the newest additions to the base was a small café, built at the request of Neptune. It gave the fleet a place to relax and unwind that wasn't the dorm and it gave San Diego the chance she wanted to show off her skills.

But with Neptune out on a mission, the day could not officially start. There was a sort of camaraderie the two of them had built in the time since the café was constructed and without her, San Diego felt listless, unable to motivate herself.

Then, she noticed a shadow forming around her. Curious, she stood up and saw the shadow getting larger.

"Uh-oh," she said and was hurled in the air when a woman came crashing down on the beach, feet first.

"What the…." Said San Diego, looking at the silver-haired, well-endowed woman, holding a body on her right side.

"Commander," she shouted.

"I'm sorry sir, was that too much?" asked Dido, holding the Commander.

"No, no," he said, slightly dazed due to the oxygen deprivation felt from Dido jumping so high up "I'm… I'm fine."

Unfortunately, when he tried to take a few steps, he staggered and accidentally fell onto Dido's chest.

"Uh…" said Dido, nervous and embarrassed. He quickly readjusted himself and shook his head.

"Commander," said San Diego "what is going on?"

"Too long to explain," he said, running to the main building, followed by Dido "the others should be arriving in a few minutes."

As he rushed to the main building, he spotted Cleveland, along with Monteplier, Columbia and Denver. He immediately called out to Cleveland.

"Commander, what's going on?" she asked, "where are the others?"

"They're on the way," he said, "take Phoenix, Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and Lexington to the hospital and find Alice's room, but don't engage her."

"What?" asked Monteplier "Commander why?"

"She's a Siren," he replied, then darted off to the main building "no matter what, do not pick a fight with her. Just tell me if she's there."

Not looking back, he darted into the main building, ignoring everyone else calling out to him and went straight to the records room. Here, he went from one locker to the next, finding the one he wanted and opened the locker.

"Where is it?", he muttered quietly, while Dido watched on.

"Um…. Commander?" she asked, meekly "is there something I can do?"

"Right, right," he said, taking out a folder and putting it on the table near to him. "Find Hornet and tell her to take a team to Yorktown's class. Next, I need the locations of Eugen, Z23 and Enterprise. Talk to Pennsylvania for that. Tell her I sent you."

She nodded and ran out the door. Meanwhile, he combed through the folder, scanning through the timestamps. One after another, he turned the pages until he finally found what he was looking for. Now that his suspicious were confirmed, he ran out the main building and saw Belfast, Wales, Illustrious, Queen Elizabeth, Tirpitz, Warspite, Neptune and Saint Louis had also arrived. Along with them was Kaga and Friedrich.

"Commander," said Belfast, coming to him "did you find out?"

"Yes," he said, "she's a Siren."

At this, everyone's expression grew pale.

"How did we not notice this?" asked Illustrious, her expression capturing the dread they all felt.

"Commander," said Cleveland through the communicator "we're at Alice's room but she's not here."

"What?"

"Vestal said she was released a few days ago."

"Everyone," called out Kaga "we have to act. Divide the base into grids and lets…."

"No," he interjected "if she sees anything suspicious, we're all in trouble."

"Then what do we do Commander?" asked Friedrich.

'Think, damn it,' he thought to himself 'ok, first rules of engaging the enemy on their turf is to hit the soft targets. Hospitals and schools.'

"Commander," said Hornet "your friend Dido told me what's going on."

"Good, how're Yorktown and the kids?"

"They're safe, although Yorktown mentioned that Alice came here a few days ago. But she vanished after she saw Ibuki and Izumo come in."

"Thank God," he muttered.

"What?" asked Hornet.

"Nothing. Nothing, just stay there and do not leave the class until you hear from me."

"Alright, Yorktown and the kids are safe. Which means the next target is the hospital."

"Friedrich," he said, turning to her "where's Z23 and Eugen?"

"They're with the rest of my daughters building our new homes," she replied.

"Alright, I need you to bring Deutschland, Scharnhorst, Graf Spee and Roon back here. Tirpitz, go with them to the hospital and set up a barrier. Nothing goes in or out without you knowing about it."

"Cleveland, any signs of Alice in the hospital?"

"Nothing Commander," she replied "I asked Vestal and she says she hasn't seen her anywhere near here."

"If she can't hit the soft targets, she'll go for the chain of command," he muttered.

'Belfast, Wales and Illustrious were with me so they're safe. Z23 and Eugen are with the Iron Blood so they're definitely safe. I just saw Cleveland and spoke to Hornet, so they're safe too."

"She's after Enterprise," he said to his team.

"Why her Commander?" asked Kaga.

"She's after the high-value targets," he replied "normally she'd also be after Akagi, but she's safe on the Sakura Island so…."

"Actually," said Kaga, looking away "that's not completely true."

"What?"

"Akagi's….. here," said Kaga, followed by the sound of a blood vessel exploding.

"Commander," said Dido through the Communicator "I found Enterprise, but she's with someone else."

"Commander, who is this woman?" asked Pennsylvania "she barged right in and said you gave her permission."

"Slightly true."

"I'm sending their locations to the others," said Dido.

"Where are they?"

"In the forest away from the base," said Wales "Commander, we might not get there in time."

"We might not, but I can,"

"Ah," said Belfast "are you sure?"

"Doesn't matter if I'm sure or not, just toss me in their direction and let me do the rest."

Belfast nodded then approached the Commander. She put her arms around him and before he knew it, she had hurled him into the air. Now that he was considerably high up, he was able to see the forest that Dido mentioned. Adjusting himself in the air, he descended towards the location, all the while scanning the area for Alice.

Then, he saw her near a tree, forming six funnel shaped devices around her. Tucking his arm and legs in, he increased the speed of his descent and crashed into Alice.

"Get the hell…," he said, kicking her away as their tumble came to a halt.

"…. away from my girls," he said, standing up and pointing his sword at her.

***And now we're all caught up**

"Commander, what's going on?" shouted Enterprise, upon seeing his sudden arrival.

"Stay back you two," he said, quickly turning to them and back to Alice.

"Enough games, how about you show us your true face, Siren infiltrator."

Both Akagi and Enterprise stared at each other in shock upon hearing this.

"That's Siren Omega to you," said Alice, slowly picking herself up and getting to her feet. As she did, the trio saw Alice's hair color change to white, her eyes now glowed yellow, her clothes changing and featuring a pair of spiky shoulder pads, a loose fitting black and yellow uniform, extending from her chest right down to her waist. She now had a pair of heeled black and yellow shoes, held two swords in her hands and had six spindle shaped objects orbiting over her head.

"And here I am without a red carpet," he said sarcastically "ladies, meet the leader of the enemy forces and reason why we're all in this mess to begin with."

With a simple gesture, she dismissed her swords. Her demeanor changed, she cracked the knuckles in her head, asking him "how did you figure it out? I altered my memory with a fake one, just in case you had a Siren detection device."

"Dumb luck," he replied "when the mission with the Royal Navy was over, I was speaking to Queen Elizabeth, who was telling me about how lucky they were that Dido came to the island in time. She also said that she noticed an increase in Siren activity, which prompted them to act in the first place. On it's own, that last statement didn't really mean much."

"But in the greater context, it started ringing warning bells in my mind. That's why Dido and I made a beeline to the base, where I went to check up on our records."

"It's a good thing I've got someone as meticulous as Enterprise," he added "she's the sort of person that writes about everything. From the amount of brush strokes she uses when combing her hair to the amount of coffee cups she drank in a day, the woman in meticulous."

Akagi stared at Enterprise, who hid her face with her cap, not wanting to imagine what other details he found out about her.

"Now a woman as careful as Enterprise would surely note down when you arrived. When I found out the date of your arrival was only a few days after the uptick in Siren activity, I had everything I needed."

"Still though," he said, twirling his sword "rewriting your memories, heading into the Lion's Den. You put a lot of effort to come after little old me. Why is that?"

"Tch. Don't sell yourself short, Will of Azure," said Omega.

"Before you came here, this world was practically at my fingertips. The Eagle Union were running scared, the Sakura Empire were on both knees, begging me to keep them safe, the Royal Navy was but a shadow of its former self and the famed Iron Blood was on its last legs."

"But all that changed after you came. Thanks to that damned woman Hood, everything changed. You first brought back Enterprise and the others, gaining the power of the Eagle Union. Then, you picked a fight with the Sakura Empire. What should have been a battle where you idiots blasted each other and my forces came in to wipe you out was the moment the course of the war changed."

"The Eagle Union and Sakura Empire: two fated enemies suddenly working together and all because of one damned person."

"One by one they all started joining you. Warriors that would normally never serve under someone were pledging their loyalty to you, ready to die for you if need be. Have you ever wondered why that is?"

His answer was simply a shrug.

"Because of what you represented to them," said Omega "you showed them that they didn't need to live in fear of my fleet. You showed them that with a small force, you could accomplish the impossible. You effectively weaponized hope, telling them that if they fought with you, they'd all live a long and peaceful life."

"Usually, having power like that would change someone, change their mind, change their motives; but that never happened to you though did it? You and your delirious honesty. It would have been fine if you dangled a peaceful world over their heads and kept it out of reach but no, you gave them what they wanted and in turn, they rallied around you."

"You are the single biggest threat to my campaign," she said, extending her hands out.

"Don't think for a second that we'll let you lay a hand on him," shouted Enterprise, standing beside the Commander, pointing an arrow at Omega while Akagi was ready to fire as well.

"Sorry girls," she said, playfully smiling "but you're going to be a little busy."

As she said that, portals started opening up in the sky. Through them emerged multiple Siren cruisers, battleships, aircraft carriers, destroyers and heavy cruisers. At this point, the Commander noticed Belfast, Wales, Illustrious, Queen Elizabeth, Warspite, Kaga, Tirpitz and the rest of the Royal Maid Squad had arrived.

"Looks like the gang's all here," she said, noticing them as well.

She eyed them with malicious intent and the team did the same. Both sides looked like they were about to fight at a moment's notice.

"Hold on a second here," said the Commander, raising his hand up and turning all attention to him "I just thought of something."

"Instead of us doing this, this final over-the-top crazy last battle, where both sides throw everything they have while the two of us carve each other up like two slabs of meat, let's settle this with just the two of us."

"What?" said Belfast, shocked by this.

"What?" said Omega, surprised by this.

"You and me, one on one, winner takes all," he said pointing the sword at her.

"Commander," said Enterprise "you can't seriously…"

"Fine, I accept," said Omega, preventing Enterprise from voicing her concern "but don't expect me to go easy on you because you're injured or anything."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Akagi we have to do something," said Enterprise "he can't fight her on his own."

"I believe he can," said Akagi.

"What?"

"You've never seen it before, which is why you're doubtful, but this is the second time for me. It's the second time I've seen that look in his eyes. The last time I saw that look was when he marched towards the Siren fleet, while our forces battled it out."

Was this a good move? No. By no stretch of the imagination was this a good move. He was injured and required some degree of medical attention. So why did the Commander opt to fight Omega one on one when it was smarter to let his fleet do the job?

Answer: the hospital and the schools. As he said earlier, these two buildings are the softest targets on the base and would normally be the first places hit in the event of an attack. If a fight were to break out, Omega would first turn her attention to the hospital, as it was sure to be stocked with girls from the Royal Navy, thus making it a prime candidate for an attack.

By having them fight, he narrowed down the battlefield to the area they were in and prevented either of them from escaping. In the event the Commander tried to escape the fighting zone, the Siren fleet would attack him. Such was the case if Omega tried to escape. It may have put him in trouble, but in the grander scheme, it helped keep the rest of the fleet safe.

"Tirpitz, tell everyone at the base not to be alarmed about the Siren ships," he said "and tell them not to engage the enemy."

Omega and the Commander took their stances. They both stared each other down and, in a flash, the two of them charged at each other, meeting in the middle with their swords clashing. Omega swung wildly at him, while he ducked and retaliated with a sweeping kick. Omega stuck her right sword into the ground stopping her descent and, in that position, she attacked with a downward slash. The Commander blocked the attack then kicked her away.

Omega wasted no time and attacked the Commander with a barrage of sword strikes, but the latter blocked them all, showing no openings. This time, she bent down and knocked him off his feet. The Commander put his foot on the ground and spun his body about, attacking Omega with multiple kicks and sending her staggering back.

As he got to his feet, Omega used her funnels to fire numerous energy beams at him, but was shocked to see when he deflected them all.

"How did you do that?" she asked, shocked by his feat.

"My maid's a lot faster than your pea shooters," he replied and attacked her.

Everyone immediately turned to Belfast, who was just as shocked as everyone else was after hearing what he said.

The Commander leapt up and attacked with a downward swing. Omega held both her swords up in an 'X' and blocked him. He proceeded to launch attack after attack on her, forcing her to the ground but Omega did not lower her guard. The Commander then kicked her in the chest, sending her back. She saw him coming and swung both her sword down, but the Commander slipped in the space between the blades, hitting her in the nose with his shoulder. He followed this up with a sword swing and landed a cut on her chest. Omega recovered and landed two cuts on the Commander's sides, forcing them both to take a few steps back.

Omega attacked again, this time using those spindles around her and letting off a barrage of fire aimed at the Commander. He was able to dodge the lion's share of the attacks, but the last one hit him in the foot, halting his advance. This light halt in advance allowed Omega the time she needed to close the gap and land a deep cut on his chest. The Commander staggered back a little, dropping his sword in the process.

Not wanting to let an opportunity slip by, Omega charged in again, ready to capitalize on the opening, but was shocked when the Commander's punched her in the chest, then grabbed her hand and flung her over his head. Omega reacted to this and landed on her feet just in time to see the Commander flinging his sword at her. She simply stepped to one side and dodged, only to see that the attack was a ruse. The Commander closed the distance between them, stood next to Omega, tapped the back of her foot so she would lose her balance, then rammed her into the ground.

She rose to her feet, just in time to see the Commander approaching her, ready to strike with his fist. She blocked it but failed to see his knee coming up and ramming into her chest. Omega took a few steps back and punched the Commander in the chest. He staggered a little but quickly resumed his attack with a downward strike. Omega held both swords up to block, but the force behind it caused her to buckle. However, instead of the sword coming down on her head, she deflected it just enough that it landed on her shoulder.

The Commander pushed the sword further down, ready to cut off her arm. But suddenly, he was being pulled back by someone. As this happened, he saw the ground he was just standing on, become engulfed by an explosion.

"You cheater," he shouted, as Enterprise, Akagi and the others all stood in front of him.

"It seems like I still have much to learn," said Omega, rising to her feet while a Siren destroyer hovered over her. The ship then let out a beam that enveloped her and lifted her off the ground.

"Sorry Commander," she said, getting further and further away "looks like you'll have that over-the-top last battle after all."

With that said, she opened a portal and along with her ships, Omega left.

"The leader of the Sirens," said Queen Elizabeth "I had no idea there was some mastermind behind this whole war."

"But now that we know who it is," said Tirpitz "we can start planning our next move."

"Before we do that," said the Commander, walking over to Enterprise and Akagi. To their surprise and to the surprise of everyone else's the Commander pulled them both into a tight hug.

"Thank goodness you two are safe," he said, resting his head on their shoulders "I wouldn't know what to do if anything happened to either of you."

Momentarily caught off guard by this sudden gesture, Akagi and Enterprise returned to their sense and returned the hug to the Commander.

"Sorry for worrying you like that," said Enterprise.

"And I'm also sorry for getting my blood on your clothes."

"That's fine," said Akagi.

This moment had gone on long enough and the Commander decided it was time to let go. Yet, try as he might, he found that the other two did not share the same sentiment.

"Um, girls," he said, looking at both of them "you can…. let go now..."

"Well I'm still a little scared with everything that just happened," said Enterprise, looking away in an effort to hide how bad her poker face was "so I think I'd like to stay this way a little longer."

"I don't wanna let go," said Akagi outright.

"Huh?"

"Hey you two," shouted Belfast "the Commander's sustained injuries from his last mission, hasn't rested and just fought an enemy. He needs to recuperate."

"Shut up stupid maid," shouted Enterprise and Akagi in unison, ignoring Belfast's words.

As the two continued to hold onto him, the Commander had other ideas on his mind. Omega, leader of the Sirens and the one in charge of the war. She was the last enemy he'd have to face if he wanted to win this war and defeat the Sirens once and for all.

As much as he wanted to think, plan and train for the battle to come, right now, he thought it was best to enjoy this little moment.

"Commander," said Akagi, turning to him and sniffing "why do I smell strawberries on your lips?"


	32. Home

Sleeping quietly in his room, enjoying a long night of rest and dreaming, the Commander slowly stirred. Night had come and gone. It was time to start his day.

"Roon," he said, his eyes still closed yet could sense the presence of the Iron Blood woman near the bed "stop hiding in the shadows and come out."

Upon saying that, Roon emerged from the shadows, not at all surprised that he noticed her.

"You know I shouldn't be doing that Commander," she said.

"And why is that?" he asked, eyes still closed.

"Because if someone sees me then I won't be able to do my job and protect you like I'm supposed to."

"There's already someone doing that….. and put my cape back on the chair Akagi."

"But I like how it smells~," said Akagi, swaying from side to side, near the dresser, holding his cape. Then, knowing that he won't object to it, she put on the cape and took in a deep breath, breathing in the scent the cape had on it.

Growling quietly yet knowing that he could not do anything about it, he turned to his right side and opened his eyes.

"AAAHHH!", he shouted upon seeing that he was not alone in the bed "I should be used to this by now," he added, chiding himself for his lack of adaptability.

"Friedrich," he said, addressing the other occupant in the bed.

"Yes dear," she said, smiling sweetly at him, the sheet covering her up to the chest.

"Why are you sleeping in my bed?"

'Huh… there's a question I never thought I'd ask,' he thought, reflecting inwardly.

"Making sure you're safe," she replied.

"How?"

"Well what if a Siren ship appears right above this building, rips out the roof and takes you up? In those times it is important is there's someone close who can protect you."

Ignoring the fact that they had prevented such a scenario from happening, the Commander said "but I already have Akagi and Roon."

"The fox and the snake?" said Friedrich, raising her eyebrow in a condescending way "they wouldn't be able to keep you safe. Not like I can."

"Oy," said Roon, her tone changing and her hostility emerging "I was fine letting you sleep because the Commander looked defenseless when he slept, but now you're making it difficult for him. You need to leave."

"I agree," added Akagi, standing atop the edge of the bed, looking equally menacing "leave Friedrich, the Commander is safe with us."

"I disagree," she said, rising up and exposing her bare back to the Commander while holding a sheet to cover her front "rather than having the two of you keep him safe, it makes sense strategically to have me alone protect him."

"Why were you sleeping naked in my bed," he shouted.

'Huh, there's another question I never thought I'd ask,'

"If you want me to leave," said Friedrich, her weapons forming alongside her "you'll have to beat me first."

"Deal," said Akagi, rising up to the challenge.

"Accepted," added Roon.

Under normal circumstances, three beautiful women fighting over you would be a dream come true. Although they were indeed beautiful, there was one teeny, tiny small issue the trio were overlooking. They were weapons of mass destruction. On a good day, any one of them could level a city block and had the power to take out a small army. Hence, the idea of the three of them fighting in an enclosed space was as bad.

"Wait, wait, wait," but it was too late. The resultant force of their combined attacks, sent him shooting out of the room.

"Hmm, this is odd," he said looking at the hole in the roof.

"Normally I'd wind up with my head inside the beach like usual…. But this time I landed in someone else's room."

The Commander took a moment to survey the area. The room he found himself in didn't look particularly girly, it had some clothes on the chair nearby and some lying on the floor.

"Definitely a lot better than what normally happens," he mused.

Upon further inspection, he noticed the trail of clothes led to the bathroom. His doubts that someone was inside was confirmed when the door opened and through it came a pale-skinned woman with long, flowing white hair and a towel over her head.

The woman rubbed the towel on her head, wiping away any excess water that was present. She lowered the towel and blinked a few times. She then rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming and that the Commander was indeed in her bed.

"Wait," he said, scrambling off the bed "I can explain."

But it was too late. As Enterprise's face became as red as a tomato, she formed her bow and readied her arrow. Just as she was about to fire, the Commander thought to himself that he was better off landing on the beach.

**00000000000000000**

"You should have seen it Kaga," said Akagi, falling on her overly sized bed and kicking her feet up like a giddy school girl.

"The way he entered like a hero from one of Amagi's books, how he protected Enterprise and I," she added then squealed into her pillow.

"He looked so gallant."

"Yes, yes I know sister," said Kaga, dropping a stack of papers on the desk in her room "now if you don't mind you still need to go over these reports for the upcoming festival."

"But I don't wanna!," she said kicking her feet again "I want to be back on the base with the Commander."

"Consider it lucky that your punishment happened to coincide with the festival," added Kaga.

Because she didn't not stay on the Sakura Empire base for long and was back at headquarters, making her an open target for Omega, the Commander sentenced Akagi to one week away from the headquarters, which was a pretty tame punishment by any stretch of the imagination.

"Think about it like this, the longer you delay over here, the closer Enterprise will get to the Commander," said Kaga and Akagi immediately snapped out of her reverie.

***The following takes place in Akagi's mind and does not represent the relationship between the Commander and Enterprise.**

"No, please, don't come any closer," said a slightly effeminate looking Commander, backed into a corner.

"Oh hohohohohohoho," laughed Enterprise, placing the back of her hand near her mouth "now that there's no Akagi here, I can take my time with you, my Commander."

"But Enterprise," he said, meekly "why are you doing this?"

"Because I don't want anyone else to have you Commander," she said, putting her arms around him and pulling him closer to her "especially not that damned fox."

"No, no, please, no, save me Akagi," he cried out.

***and scene**

Spurred on by this terrifying, (albeit unrealistic) imagining, Akagi devoted herself to finishing her tasks.

**000000000000000000**

One of the advantages the Iron Blood brought to their table was their advanced weaponry. These weapons wholly termed as 'retrofits' were studied at length by Langley, Akashi, Purin and Buri in the research lab before being adapted for the rest of the factions.

To put it simply, the retrofits were an upgrade, greatly enhancing the overall effectiveness of the girls and were a necessary upgrade. However, these upgrades could not be applied to everyone in the fleet, due to their difficulty in adapting to these stronger weapons. As a result, the Commander was given a list of women who qualified for the retrofits and had begun gathering the tools and funding required to upgrade them all.

This was why the Commander was staring at his tablet, displaying the overall progress of the retrofit process.

"Well Commander?" asked Belfast, placing a cup of tea on the table next to him "how is it?"

"Better than I feared, worse than I hoped," he replied, setting the tablet down and having a sip of tea.

"That bad?"

"Pretty much. We're lacking the funding needed to finish these retrofits," he said "its not apparent right now, but if I don't figure out a solution quickly, it could mean trouble."

"Then wouldn't it be better to prioritize which girls deserve the retrofits?"

"I'll think about it after all other options have been exhausted. Till then…"

"Commander!" shouted a voice from the other side of the table, startling both Belfast and him.

"Charles," said Belfast "I told you not to shout like that."

"Sorry," said Charles Ausburne.

"Charles," he said, standing up "and the rest of the Beaver squad. What brings you here?"

"We've come to demand a match against the knights of the Sea," declared Charles while Fletcher, Spence, Foote and Aulick all nodded in agreement.

"The knights of the….. wait, you mean Cleveland and her sisters?"

"Yeah," said Fletcher "Columbia's going and telling everyone how Cleveland is the best baseball player in the fleet. But that's not true, Charles is."

"Then why not have Charles and Cleveland face off against each other?"

"More fun this way,"

"Can't argue with that," he said, turning to Belfast, who looked like she could argue with it, but chose not to.

"Alright girls, go ahead. Long as you don't break any windows or hit anyone with a stray baseball, you have my say so."

Hearing this, the five girls high-fived each other.

"Ah but, you'll have to schedule your match next week," he said.

"Huh? Why?" asked Aulick.

"I heard that Cleveland and the others are attending this festival so they'll be busy getting their clothes ready."

Now the five of them huddled together, discussing something. Foote poked her head out for a moment, making sure the Commander didn't eavesdrop then returned to her conversation.

"Alright then," declared Charles "the match is cancelled."

"Huh? Why?" he asked, surprised at this turn of events.

"Because it's the lantern festival Commander," replied Charles "none of us want to miss that."

**000000000000000**

It was originally a practice begun in the Sakura Empire. At the end of summer, the members of the Sakura Empire gathered on the shores of their beach, where they'd light lanterns on paper boats and place them in the waters. Overtime, the tradition evolved into putting a wish into the boats in the hopes that these wishes were granted.

Each year the number of lanterns grew more and more. Two years before the second war broke out, the number of lanterns were so many, it is said their glow could be seen by all the other factions.

What was special about today was that for the first time, the lantern festival would not be limited to the Sakura Empire alone. Instead it would involve all four factions. This was why the base was filled with decorations, all in preparation for the festival day.

"We'll also be wearing traditional Sakura Empire clothes," added Z23 to the Commander.

"Wait, all of us?"

"Hmm, they won't have any clothes for you Commander. You may as well come as is."

"Awww," he said, faking a pout.

"Now that I think about it," said Z23 "we're going to need to stitch you a set of clothes."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well duh, after the war you're going to look pretty weird running around the base in those clothes. We'll need to get you some casuals for afterwards."

**00000000000000000**

The Commander now found himself near the beach shore, a little way away from the base, where the sounds of excitement and music could still be heard. He came here because he didn't want anyone to see how troubled his expression was.

'End of the war,' he thought. It was the sort of dangerous thought soldiers were disciplined into never having during their training days. The simple reason being, thinking about such a life, imagining what comes after firing that last bullet, it leaves you open: it allows the enemy to take advantage of those delusions and put a bullet in your head.

When he was in the Navy, he never thought about going home. Hell, he had no home to begin with; it's why he joined the Navy in the first place. One of the reasons why it was easy to mold his mind was because there was nothing and no one waiting for him at the end. At times, he'd sit on the deck of the ship, watching the setting sun, resigning himself to this fate.

Here he was, doing the same thing, but in another world. As he watched the sun disappear beyond the horizon, he thought if such a thing was possible. A life beyond war, what would that look like? Would he have a place in that world? Would he have a purpose in a world like that? What if he didn't? what happens then? So many questions and not enough answers. This was why he was better off alone with his thoughts, instead of being back at the base, where his mood might dampen others. Eventually, he did return back to the base, but quietly went to his room as he was not in the mood for conversation.

**0000000000000000**

The next day was the day of the festival. The base was filled with decorations, made even better with the sound of music. With everything that was going on right now, everyone needed a break.

"These clothes are so cramped," said Enterprise, looking at her reflection in the long mirror and making sure the sash for her kimono was tied properly "how do those girls move in something so constricting?"

"Don't make such a fuss about this Enterprise," said Yorktown, already dressed and seated at a dressing table, combing her hair "it's not often we get to wear these. And I for one think they're pretty."

"Well, at least we're only going to wear them for one night," said Hornet, looking like she was put in a straitjacket.

"Come on you two," said Yorktown "quit your griping and let's head over to the Sakura Island already."

The plan made and set forth by Akagi was thus: on the day of the festival itself, the Eagle Union, Iron Blood and Royal Navy were to have a party at the main base in the morning. By afternoon, the fleets would then head to the Sakura Island and meet with everyone else in the Sakura Empire. If all goes well, they'd be lighting lanterns and placing wishes into the boats by evening and have plenty of time for dinner.

As per the plan, the girls at the main base were dressed in a variety of different colored kimonos. Much of the morning was spent admiring each other's clothes.

Soon enough, the Commander had finished his work for the day and was also out, taking in the festival mood. He first went to the cafeteria and greeted everyone there. He saw Monteplier, Columbia, Cleveland, Neptune, Saint Louis and San Diego all gathered around one table, engrossed in a lively conversation.

"Hey Commander," said Cleveland calling him over.

"Hey, guys, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" he asked, walking over to them.

"Nah, nothing like that," said Columbia "we're just talking about how everyone looks so cute in their attire."

"That's not true at all," interjected Saint Louis "this garb is very difficult to move in and feels constricting. Plus, I don't like the colors."

"That's a shame Saint Louis," he said, "Purple looks good on you."

Saint Louis lowered her head, not wanting to let anyone see her expression.

"M-Maybe I just needed a second opinion," she said, sounding a lot quieter than before.

"What about us Commander?" asked Cleveland "what do you think?"

"You all look beautiful," he said, smiling warmly at them. Out of everyone here, the one that stuck out most for him was Cleveland. She had a blue kimono with drawings of a Sakura branch covered in patches of snow. On its, own the dress made her look beautiful. However, that beauty was offset by her adorable grin, which made her look less beautiful and more…. cute.

While many in the fleet looked either beautiful or cute, Cleveland was one of those rare oddities that perfectly straddled the line between beauty and cuteness.

"Commander," said Monteplier "you're staring at Cleveland."

"Sorry," he said, immediately looking away, much to Cleveland's disappointment.

Then, he noticed Yorktown, Hornet and Enterprise entering the cafeteria, Yorktown surrounded by her class.

"Greetings Commander," said Yorktown "you look very dashing in your uniform."

"There's nothing dashing about this," he said, "if anything, you its all of you who look radiant today."

"All that's left is the Royal Navy and the Iron Blood," said Enterprise "once they're here, we can go to the island."

"Whoa, Enterprise," said Neptune, getting up from her seat "you look amazing."

"I agree with Neptune," he added "it's nice to see you wearing something else instead of your regular uniform Enterprise."

"Well it… its just for this occasion," said Enterprise "since everyone else is doing it, I didn't want to cause any trouble."

"Oh?" asked Yorktown, purposely opening her small wooden fan and placing it near her mouth "I don't recall you saying that when we were getting dressed."

"We…we should go out and find the others," said Enterprise, in a vain attempt at deflecting the conversation. It did however work, as the group headed outside and met with the rest of the Coalition.

As they were about to leave, the question was raised of who would carry the Commander to the island. Immediately Roon and Saint Louis volunteered, followed by Enterprise, Friedrich, Tirpitz and Belfast. Then, Cleveland suggested that someone create their ship and instead of carrying only the Commander, they could accommodate everyone.

It was a sound idea without a doubt, something that he caught onto and agreed with. However, throughout the journey to the island, the looks that Cleveland got from Roon, Friedrich, Belfast and Enterprise in particular told her it was not her best idea.

When the fleet arrived at the island, they were greeted by a large welcoming committee of Shiranui, Isokaze, Hamakaze, Kagerou, Aoba, Tanikaze, Urakaze and Yukikaze. Following this, the fleet split off into different groups, with one group made up of Enterprise, Roon, Cleveland and the Commander.

"Wow," said Roon, looking at all the food stalls set up "there's so many things to eat."

"The Sakura girls are known for their cuisine," mused Cleveland "then again, their festivals are pretty wild too."

"I've always wanted to come here," said Enterprise, looking at the stalls as well.

"Commander look, look," she said, tugging his arm "they've got so many games here."

Before he could turn in the direction, Enterprise already grabbed him and took him to the shooting gallery. He was later joined by Cleveland, who had a toy mask on the side of her head and held two candy apples. Roon on the other hand, was holding multiple skewers in each hand, taking her time to eat each one of them.

As the team was idling through the streets, admiring the dazzling display of lights and taking in the different smells from the food stalls, they all became taken in by the festivities.

So much so, that all three of them failed to notice how one of their members had been abducted right under their noses. It was only when Enterprise was about to pull him towards another game stall did, she notice that he was missing.

As they were about to fan out and search for him, they heard two familiar voices arguing in the distance.

"But Kaga, I haven't seen him in an eternity," said a familiar voice.

"It's only been a week," said another voice, sounding tired

"But it feels like an eternity to me."

Enterprise, Roon and Cleveland was not surprised to see Akagi and Kaga at the source of the voices, the former carrying the Commander.

"What's gotten into you Akagi," chided Enterprise "you can't just kidnap the Commander like that."

"He's probably bored out of his mind going around with you," said Akagi, taking a step back when Enterprise tried to grab him away "besides, I know this place better than anyone else so I'm the best choice to show him around."

"Actually Akagi," stated Cleveland "aren't you in charge of everything?"

"Yes, what's that got to do with anything?"

"Well it would look pretty bad," said Enterprise "if the leader of the Sakura Empire didn't put on a good show when her Commander was here."

"Yes that's right," said Roon, adding more fuel to the fire "he might not think you're much of a leader and spend less time with you."

"Actually I'm fine on my own…."

"Damn it you're right," said Akagi as she begrudgingly set the Commander down.

Just as he was about to set his feet on the ground, a black form rushed through the group and grabbed the Commander before anyone could process what was going on.

"Seriously?" asked Enterprise to Akagi.

"I honestly have no idea what's going on"

"You can bicker and fight all you like," said a voice from on top of one of the game booths. The group turned up and saw that Belfast holding the Commander.

"Thank you for your hard work but the task of accompanying the Commander through the island and leading him to the beach shall be handled by his maid," she added.

"What?" shouted Akagi, "but you don't know anything about the place."

"On the contrary. I have already done the necessary research and have found the optimal route to provide the Commander more information about the Sakura Empire, while leading him down the fastest route to the beach."

"Rest assured Commander," said Belfast, smiling to him similar to how a newly-wed does.

"Could you let me down please?"

"No," she replied.

"Get back here you stupid maid," shouted Enterprise but it fell on deaf ears. Enterprise, Roon and Cleveland then chased Belfast around the island, while Akagi continued her work.

**000000000000000**

After a long bout of cat and mouse, everyone assembled by the shores of the beach, each of them holding a lit lantern. Then, one by one, they placed their lanterns into the waters, with their wish and watched the waves take it away. Some wished for peace, some wished for the war to end quickly, others wished for happiness and some of course, wished for love.

As the Commander set his lantern on the waters and watched it leave, he thought about his wish and if it would be granted. It was a simple one, but at the same time it was a difficult wish to grant.

His attention then turned to a few streaks of light rising up against the night sky before exploding in a dazzling spectacle of lights and colors.

"Fireworks," cried out Enterprise, "wow, they're fireworks."

"Amazing," said Yorktown.

"They're even better than I thought," added Cleveland.

"Well Commander?" asked Belfast, standing beside him "was this festival everything you imagined?"

"More than that," he said "it was incredible."

"Good. But there's plenty more excitement to be had so come along now."

Being pulled by Belfast and joining the crowd to admire the array of fireworks on display, he thought back to the wish he made and how it was already granted. Running away from home, joining the Navy, getting discharged and being brought to another world. It sure was a long journey, but at last, he found what he was looking for.

A place to call home.


	33. Regular Day

**(AN: this was originally supposed to be two chapters in one, but when I started wiring it, things went out of hand.)**

Belfast, devoted maid to the Commander of the Coalition fleet had many duties. From cleaning the headquarters to training her leader, her days were busy, hectic and tiring.

At least, that's what she expected to have when she started working as his maid. Early on, she learned that instead of working with someone who needed care and attention at all times (Queen Elizabeth), the Commander was a disciplined, independent individual. Other than adapting to the loss of his arm and how that affected him in combat, Belfast had little to do around the base aside from cleaning.

This free time gave her the opportunity to go through his administrative efforts and see if he needed any help there. Given that the dorm theme changes every three months, two new apartment buildings were built for the Iron Blood and Royal Navy respectively and plenty of countermeasures installed to prevent a surprise attack, he was a good leader as well.

If it were her alone, the boredom would be bearable. After all, she could simply chalk it up to her duty as a maid. However, due to a recent decision made by Queen Elizabeth, Belfast was faced with a problem. To better understand Belfast's problem, first of all, it is important to understand what Queen Elizabeth proclaimed.

**0000000000000000**

Three days ago.

"Wait… what?" asked Belfast, raising her hand, while still kneeling. Earlier in the day, she was summoned to meet the queen and found her in the library, along with Warspite, Illustrious and Wales.

"You heard me Belfast," said Queen Elizabeth "in light of the Commander's efforts during the last fight, I have decided to reward him by retasking the whole Royal Maid Squad to him."

"But then, who will take care of you?" asked Belfast.

"I-I can take care of myself," said her majesty, looking away.

'No, she can't,' thought everyone else in the room.

"Unfortunately, her majesty will not budge on the issue," said Warspite.

"It is decided," declared Queen Elizabeth, banging her scepter on the ground "henceforth and till the end of the war, the Royal Maid Squad shall be tasked with helping the Commander of the Coalition fleet."

**0000000000000000**

"With what exactly?" shouted Belfast, getting up from her chair "he does almost everything on his own."

"While I am happy that he's capable and independent, why can't you be lazy from time to time Commander?"

Pacing the room from left to right, Belfast eyed the paper with some interest.

They were indeed running out of funds for the retrofit and he wasn't the type to leave anyone behind.

"Teeheehee," she said, grinning a naughty grin "That's right. There is one avenue we haven't used yet."

**0000000000000000**

First it was Akagi, who somehow managed to get him to sleep on her tails. Next was Roon, who spent most of her nights watching him sleep. No movement, no sounds, she just stood in the dark part of the room and watched him sleep. Finally, was Friedrich, who had gone from bed mate to using him like a pillow at night.

As strange and tiring as his morning routine had become, he took it in stride. The reasons were multiple: it was their way of showing they cared, this is how it is in this world, some of them are a little eccentric… they don't mean you any harm.

Whatever excuse he told himself, it worked. He never asked too much and after a time, he grew used to it.

And when he woke up, there was yet another new addition to his morning routine antics. To the left was Sheffield, Gloucester, Edinburgh, Dido, Kent and Suffolk. To the right was Newcastle, Glasgow, Sirius, Curacao, Curlew and Belfast.

"Good morning master," said the twelve of them in unison, bowing at the same time "we hope you rested well and are ready to start your day."

"As you can see I have assembled the Royal Maid Squad to greet you," said Belfast, taking a step forward "if this is to your liking, I shall now send the maids to do their daily duties."

The Commander looked like he had trouble processing the information. He blinked a few times, rubbed his face then turned to Belfast and asked "Belfast, is it me or is the room getting smaller?"

"The room is the same size it has always been master," said Belfast "it has not been made smaller at all."

"Ugh, all this noise is really ruining the morning for me," said Roon, emerging out from under the bed "you guys are taking things a little too far."

"I agree," said Akagi, seated on a chair with wheels "you're all causing the Commander needless trouble."

"Yes please leave," said Friedrich, rising up from the bed "can't you see you're making the Commander uncomfortable?"

The Commander glared at the three of them and said "you three are the last people I want to hear that from."

**000000000000000000**

Following an 'eventful' morning, the Commander locked himself away in his room, intent on finding an answer to the financing problem. He expressly told everyone not to disturb him for the rest of the day, giving Belfast what she wanted.

This was why she was able to assemble the rest of the Royal Maid Squad in a meeting room without anyone asking too many questions.

"Ladies," she said, taking the initiative "we are at a crisis."

At once, the group she was addressing grew concerned.

"The duty of maids is to fulfill their master's desire and pamper their master by doing their work. That has been our sacred duty for decades now and we have fulfilled our duties without incident."

"However, our way of life is threatened. As we speak, there is a dangerous force lurking within the headquarters, one that could make us obsolete."

"I'm talking about the Commander," she said, and everyone gasped "instead of simply sitting and doing nothing while the rest of us do his work, he takes an active interest in the fleet, oversees distribution of resources, assigns different teams to handle the commissions and changes the themes of the dorm room at a whim."

"That's right, he's the worst enemy we have ever faced, an independent leader."

"No," said Sirius, growing pale.

"I can't… believe it," said Dido

"He looked so lazy," said Newcastle.

"There are times," said Belfast, sniffling a little "where I'm forced to watch him do the laundry, while I do nothing."

"Oh you poor thing," said Kent.

"What a villain that Commander is," added Suffolk.

"Which is why," said Belfast, slamming a manila folder onto the table.

"In order to pay the Commander back for not giving us anything to do, we're going to create work."

"Oh? How so?" asked Gloucester.

"Easy. We're going to hold an event. Spread the word ladies, by evening we're holding an auction at the dorm room."

"I like the sound of that," said Sheffield.

"Yes," said Belfast, letting out an evil chuckle "this will teach the Commander an important lesson. You'll pay for being so reliable on and off the battlefield."

As Belfast let out an evil laugh, the others also joined in. Cleveland, overhearing the noise, opened the door and poked her head in. Upon seeing what was going on, she quietly left the room, not wanting to alert the others.

**0000000000000000000**

Outside the meeting room, Denver, Columbia and Monteplier greeted Cleveland as she came outside.

"Hey Cleveland," said Denver, "whoa, why's your face pale?"

"I get the feeling the Commander's in a lot of trouble," said Cleveland, looking in the direction of the meeting room.

"Should we help?" asked Columbia, sounding concerned.

"Honestly I don't think it's a good idea," replied Cleveland "we should get away from here."

"Agreed," said Monteplier "by the way Denver, what did you call us out here for?"

"That's right," said Denver, remembering something "I want to break into Roon's room."

Cleveland stopped walking and with a terrified expression, she asked "are you serious? That lady's scary. Like really scary. Why'd you want to break into her room?"

"Because when I was walking by the rooms, on the way to see you, I could have sworn Roon was up to something with a part of the wall."

"The wall? Sounds weird," said Monteplier.

"Sounds like an adventure to me," said Columbia "come on Cleve, let's go."

"Guys, this is Roon we're talking about," said Cleveland, trying to quell the idea "firstly, she's a member of our fleet so it's not right to suspect her. Secondly, if she catches us."

"But what if its something important? I'm sure the Commander would really appreciate you if you brought it to his attention," said Denver.

***cue the wavy dreamy transition**

"Thank you so much for helping me Cleveland," he said, getting down on one knee.

"It was nothing Commander," she said, shyly.

"Oh but it is. I didn't know Roon was up to no good but now I do, thanks to you."

"Cleveland," he said, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Y-Yes Commander?" she asked, gulping.

"I love you," he said, coming closer to her "kiss me, my darling."

***Dream over**

Realizing the potential this might have, Cleveland, her face now as red as a strawberry turned in the direction of the dorm rooms and said "let's go," then marched off.

"I still don't like it," said Monteplier.

"Awww," said Columbia, patting her sister on the head "you're just jealous that the Commander will steal our beloved Clevebro."

"I have every right to be. Did you see the way he was ogling Cleveland in a kimono?"

Following this conversation, the four found themselves outside Roon's room. The group first noted that she was at the Iron Blood's island, learning more about her history from Tirpitz and Friedrich.

Columbia slowly reached for the doorknob and turned it. Then, she opened the door and went inside, followed by Denver, Monteplier and Cleveland. Now inside, the four of them started going through the room, only to find there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Alright, we've done what we needed to," said Monteplier "there's nothing here. Roon is scary but there's nothing to, oh wow that's suspicious."

"What is?" asked Denver, turning to Monteplier.

"Oh that does look suspicious," added Columbia.

"Guys it's only a very long curtain," said Cleveland, walking up to the curtain "it's not like there's going to…."

As she reached out to the curtain and pulled it down, the four girls all saw that there why Roon hid this part of her room. They saw a large mirror, placed on an ornate dressing table, filled with plenty of make up bottles and perfumes. On its own that seemed fine, but when looking around the mirror, they saw hundreds of small pictures of the Commander stuck to the wall.

Some of them looked like they were taken from a distance, others looked like they were taken from a hiding spot. However, one prevailing theme seen here was that all these pictures were taken without him knowing.

Then, to top it off, the four of them saw many pieces of paper on and scattered around the dressing table. On them were the words "Roon + Commander" surrounded in a heart and in different sizes.

"Yo," said Columbia, looking as wide-eyed as her other sisters "this….. is….. scary."

"I think we've stayed here long enough," said Denver and everyone agreed.

Just as they turned around, they saw the doorknob to the room turning.

"The jig is up," said Cleveland, opening the window near the bed, "RUN!."

One by one, the three of them leapt out the window with Cleveland being the last one to leave. Once outside, the four of them ran away from the room, as quickly as their legs could take them.

"Let's never sneak into anyone's rooms again," cried out Columbia.

"Agreed," said Denver.

"People deserve their privacy," added Monteplier.

**0000000000000000**

As this happened, Belfast and the maids set out to inform the rest of the fleet that they were having a Commander related auction. She divided the maids into two groups, with one spreading the word to the other factions while the other helped her make the necessary items required for the auction.

Managing their time efficiently in a way that only the maids of the Royal Navy could do, the teams completed their tasks on schedule and by evening, the auction room was packed with many members.

"I think a lot of us are here to see what's going on," said Enterprise to Yorktown "I mean, it's not like the Commander has anything he can auction off."

"Hmm," said Yorktown "I for one think it's something else."

"By the way, where's hornet?" asked Enterprise

"She's finishing up some commission reports with Oklahoma and Nevada," replied Yorktown.

Enterprise scanned the crowd and saw a number of familiar faces. Akagi, Wales, Friedrich, Roon, Suruga, Saint Louis, Monarch, Z23, Graf Spee, Cleveland and Neptune.

Suddenly, the lights in the room went off and a single light shone on stage. Everyone in the room turned their attention to Belfast coming out from behind a curtain, holding a mic in her hand.

"Good evening ladies and thank you all for coming to the first ever Commander auction," she said "before we begin, I'd like to go over a few ground rules. First…"

"What's a Commander auction?" called out Enterprise.

"It's as the name say," replied Belfast "we're auctioning off Commander related items. As evidenced during the beach festival, he is a valuable commodity and we're taking advantage of it."

"And does the Commander know about it?" asked Enterprise.

"Hey, stop asking such dumb questions and let's get to the good stuff," said one voice.

Belfast cleared her throat then moved aside. The room then saw Curacao and Curlew bring out a table of figurines of the Commander in different poses. One had him standing stoically with his sword in the ground. One had him with his sword out in a stylish pose and the third had him with his shirt open, exposing his well-defined body.

"These are the first line of products we'll be selling," said Belfast "Alongside this will be the essential dakimakuras on sale."

"Please note that Akashi and Shiranui have set up stalls to your left and to your right. Based on how much you buy, three of you present here will be treated to the three grand prizes."

"Uh-oh," said Yorktown "I don't like where this is going."

"I like where this is going," said Akagi, somewhere in the crowd.

Belfast then extended her hand to the curtain behind her, which opened up and revealed three somethings hidden underneath three smaller drapes.

"For the third place winner," said Belfast and Edinburgh took off one of the drapes, revealing a beautiful enlarged picture of the Commander seated on the grass, with little birds resting on his head and shoulders.

"They will receive, this picture, titled 'one with nature,'" she said, continuing "notice how the Commander is completely at peace with nature and how our world's animals have taken to him."

"Hey," said a voice from the crowd "is that Eugen in the back?"

The crowd and the maids then stared closer at the picture, only then noticing Eugen poking her head out of one of the shrubs.

"You saw how peaceful he looked," countered Eugen "I didn't want to disturb him."

"Next up," said Belfast and Kent revealed the next picture. It was one of the Commander lying on one side of the bed, the other side looking empty.

"The second place winner will receive this picture, titled 'missing you.' Look at his position and the way his arm is stretched out as if reaching out to his love. Who? Who could it be? Who is it that the Commander wants?"

"And finally…." Said Belfast, while Didio did a drum roll "for the first place winner… they will receive…."

As she said that, Newcastle pulled down the drape, revealing the picture. In that moment, everyone in the room all had the same thought.

'ooohhh, six pack.'

Based on the clothes he wore, it looked like this was taken moments after his daily training routine was finished. The picture showed him with his shirt almost fully taken off exposing his well-toned body plain as day.

"This picture, titled 'Training complete.' Look at the way his hair is clumped down and covering only his eyes. The way the sweat trickles down his cheeks and drips off his chin. And those abs… those abs."

There was silence in the roof. A long silence as everyone looked at the pictures, some just taking it in and storing it in their mind, others, thinking about what was the requirement needed to get just one of those three pictures.

"Bidding starts…" said Belfast, raising her hand high up "NOW!."

Needless to say, the products were sold out in less than ten minutes. Even though Akashi and Shiranui made plenty of extras just in case, the two did not factor in the demand the Commander had. The whole room turned into a frantic competition with only three emerging the winners.

**0000000000000**

Meanwhile, back in his office, the Commander woke up in a start. He looked from side to side and blinked a couple of times. Then he turned back and saw that it was pretty late right now.

Thinking that he'd better go get dinner while its still there, he got up from the seat and headed out the door.

"Whoa," he said, shuddering a little "why am I getting a bad feeling all of a sudden?"


	34. Prelude

As a result of some 'clever' tactics, Belfast raised plenty of capital and brought it to the Commander for use in the retrofit procedure. The only catch was, he wasn't allowed to ask where she got the money from.

Thanks to the influx of extra capital, the Commander also had time for a smaller, but equally important project he'd been thinking about for some time now. One evening, he devoted a little time to that project then forwarded it to Akashi.

It had been nearly a month since the last incident on the base. As much as he wanted this peace and quiet to continue, he knew it would not last for long.

**000000000000000**

His morning did not start the usual way. There was no crazy interactions, no taunts and no fights that ended with him sent into the beach. As he opened his eyes, he saw Friedrich, Akagi and Roon looking out the window, their expressions were tense.

He got out of bed and slowly came to the window, only then understanding why they looked the way they did.

The sky had turned red.

Wasting little time, he went to the briefing room and met with California, Ranger and Langley. The trio informed him that less than three minutes ago, their long range scanners picked up a sudden burst of Siren activity. Given that their arrival was followed by this sudden change in the sky, the two incidents had to be closely related.

They also mentioned that the change in scenery wasn't just for visual purposes. Langley pointed out the red clouds were creating havoc with the weather and that a number of large storms were gathering around the Siren's location.

'She's finally made her move,' he thought, looking at a map of the area displayed on the screen.

"Commander," said California, looking concerned "is this it?"

"Yes," he said, turning to her "sound the alarms on all four islands. It's time to end this war."

As he left the briefing room, he heard the alarms going off. No doubt everyone was already on edge when they saw the sky and this only confirmed what they were thinking. He watched everyone scramble out of their rooms, while he made his way to the research lab where Akashi, Purin and Buri were.

"Hello Comnyander," said Akashi, waving to him "not often we see you here."

"The retrofit procedures finally completed Commander," said Buri "Additionally, we were able to enhance the weapons of all the other girls, effectively increasing the fleet's strength."

"Good," he said, nodding to them "the three of you have been the backbone of the fleet. One of the reasons why our fleet's reached this point is because of the hard work you three have put in."

"Awww Comnyander," said Akashi, playfully hiding her face behind the long sleeves of her clothes "keep this up and I might just blush."

"By the way," he added "were you able to make it in time?"

"Yep, yep," she replied "Purin and Buri helped out with the design as well."

Akashi then went to one of the consoles and pulled out a long wooden pole with fabric wrapped around it. She handed it to the Commander and the three of them watched him leave.

Getting into the elevator and heading back up to the base, he suddenly remembered an old navy buddy by the name of Billy Burns. The thing he remembered most about Billy was a mantra that many always chanted right before an operation started.

'Whatever it takes.'

Billy later explained the meaning behind that mantra to him. He said that when you find something you love, when you find something worth fighting for, you or anyone for that matter would do whatever it took to protect that something.

Initially he laughed it off, failing to understand the words and the meaning they had. He was a no one with nothing worth fighting for and no one waiting for him to come home.

But that changed when he came here.

The doors to the elevator opened and he went through. The Commander thought about how this strange and different world had become a home to him. He thought about how much he loved everyone in this world and how he would do anything for them.

One last time, he put on the uniform, checked himself in the mirror, adjusted his pin, put on his cap and sheathed his sword. He held the wooden pole firmly, left his room and went outside, fully understanding the meaning behind Billy Burns' mantra.

'Whatever it takes.'

Now outside, the Commander saw Akagi, Enterprise, Queen Elizabeth, Yat Sen, Friedrich and Saint Louis waiting for him. The group noticed the wooden pole he was carrying but decided not to ask. The six of them accompanied him to a nearby stage, where a mic was placed and every member of the fleet stood waiting.

The Commander walked up to the mic and took a deep breath.

"I'll never forget the day I got this badge," he began "Siren ships were attacking us from all around, Z23 and I were struggling to evade them and in the midst of all this, Hood decided to name me the Commander. It wasn't the time or the place to do it, but after insisting, she pinned the badge onto me."

"At first, I never really understood what role I'd play in this war. But all that changed when Enterprise was fighting Hornet in an effort to save me."

There were some members of the fleet that turned to Hornet at the mention.

"She told Enterprise how terrible things had been after she died. As a leader, Hornet struggled to get by every day. They were attacked by Sirens, had little supplies and constantly lived in fear that this day might be their last. When I saw the hopelessness in her eyes and the dread in her voice, I decided."

"In that moment, I knew what to do. It wasn't just about gathering the factions and leading them into war. When the Sirens came here, they struck fear into the hearts of everyone in this world with their power and ferocity. It was up to me to dispel that fear so that no one would ever have to look up in the sky in fear."

"And so, the Coalition that started with Akashi, Z23 and I grew ten-fold that day with the Eagle Union. The next big moment for us came during a fight with the Sakura Empire. Many of you remember that day, it was a day where anything could have gone wrong. But I remember it as the day the Coalition fleet set half the sky on fire, sending a warning to the Siren forces."

"One by one, the fleet grew. First with the PR class girls, then the Iron Blood, then the Royal Navy and finally the Dragon Empry. And now here you are, assembled and ready for the final fight."

"As I look out and see all the many faces in the crowd, I can see that you're scared. I'm scared too. This is the hardest fight of our lives and the enemy is going to come at us with everything they've got."

"But when you feel like it's too much, when you think that you're too sacred and can't go on, I want you to look to your left and then to your right. You'll see that you're not alone in this fight. Every single one of you gathered here are united by one single goal, one unifying ideal that stands above all else."

"Today," he declared "you are no longer part of the Royal Navy, the Eagle Union, the Dragon Empry, Sakrua Empire or the Iron Blood. Today….."

The fleet saw him ram the pole into the ground, the force of which caused the fabric to unravel and fall out. This revealed two olive branches, curved and place on the left and right most extremes against a blue background. At the top were a few small, white clouds with the outlines of two birds and at the bottom was the sea. On top of the sea was an anchor standing straight, with a chain wrapped around it.

"… You are all part of the Azur Sky, the first ever Armada in history and the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen," he said, letting the flag fly brilliantly in the direction of the wind.

"Now…. One last time, I ask you all to fight with me and together, we will put an end to the Siren threat, once. And. For. All."

All at once, everyone standing in the crowd and the group that stood on the stage with him, erupted in a roar of agreement. Their combined voices were powerful enough that the ground shook underneath their feet in fear of such a large force being assembled.

Following the speech, he divided the fleet into their major groups: Cruisers, heavy cruisers, destroyers, battleships and aircraft carriers. Additionally, the Dragon Empry and PR class were not grouped together with the others. They were their own groups led by Yat Sen and Saint Louis respectively. He assigned leaders to each of the groups and gave them time to prepare. In half an hour, the armada was ready.

"The Azur Sky," said Yorktown, while the Commander was saying goodbye to the kids "that's a pretty bold thing to do."

"I'm a pretty bold guy," he said, receiving a hug from Aulick and Spence "and I like the design."

Yorktown then took a deep breath, watching him give a Unicorn a long hug.

"This is it," she said, watching him stand up.

"This is it," he said.

"Promise me you'll bring my sisters back," she requested.

"I will."

"Commander," she said, taking his hand. For a moment, she looked unsure of what to do. Then, feeling some of the kids nudge her, Yorktown came forward and hugged the Commander.

"Take care of yourself out there," she said, almost not wanting to let go.

"I will"

She held onto him for a little longer then let go. Yorktown now watched him meet up with Enterprise and Hornet and together, the trio left the sea, heading to the battlefield.

Perhaps it was the finality of it all, perhaps it was the stakes at play. Whatever the reason there was, Yorktown could not help but worry as she saw the armada depart the base.

All throughout the journey, there was silence. It was a tense and uneasy silence permeating the air. He could feel it as he looked at everyone else. He could even feel the silence in the world around him. It felt like the world itself became silent, in preparation for the battle to come.

"Commander," said Langley, as they drew closer "from what we know, the Sirens are trying to bring something over from their world to ours."

"Is it something like what we recently faced with the Royal Navy?"

"No, we don't see that," said Ranger "that device was spread its influence across the planet. This one is centralized, focused on one location."

"Given how long the portal's been open, we can estimate a sizable force waiting for us when we get there," suggested California.

"Which means we need to take out that device before its too late," suggested Langley.

"I'll factor that into the plans," he said, "thank you."

Langley, Ranger and California nodded then returned to their positions. As much as they wanted to press the idea of committing all forces into taking out that device, they remained silent.

**0000000000000000**

Even from a distance, they could see it, a towering vortex of space hovering in the air, like a tear in reality. Through it came scores of Siren ships of different classes. The ship the Commander was on stopped near an island, allowing him to get off. As much as he wanted to, he could not fight alongside them. Vestal was also placed on a nearby island and she quickly started working on a triage center for the wounded.

He watched the ship leave then quietly walked towards the nearby hill. All the way up, he had a clear view of the battlefield, seeing the armada move into their designated positions and ready themselves. He had already told them their plan on the way here. The rest was up to them.

"You all know what's at stake," he said, speaking into his communicator "Together, let's bring back the blue sky we all know and love."

"That was a pretty terrible speech," said another voice, indicating he was not alone on top of the hill.

He turned in the direction of the voice and saw Omega watching the same scene he was.

"How did you find me?" she asked, turning to him.

"I thought of which place offered the best view of the battle. Figured you'd be here too."

"Do you, think about Earth? I do. I often think back to that world and my earliest memory."

"Was it something pleasant?" he asked.

"I wish," she replied, with a self-deprecating laugh. "My earliest memory was me hiding under the bed and seeing my mother getting raped by the police that was supposed to protect us, while my father watched, helplessly."

"Then, I remembered watching my brother being gunned down like an animal just for getting me bread."

"Where did you live?" he asked.

"Does it matter? Our world is filled with wars breaking out each and every day. I grew up seeing so much death, that when I was suddenly brought to a new world, the only thing I wanted to do was help the people there."

"You see, that world was in the midst of a terrible and bloody war between the royalty and peasants. The peasants brought me there in the hopes that I could be their savior, but how was a little girl supposed to save the world?"

"It was a difficult and long journey. I lost many friends along the way, but in the end, we won and for my efforts in leading the peasants to victory, they made me the Queen of their world. Just as I had reached the top of the ladder, everything I built came crashing down."

"In my rise to power, there were many who grew scared of me and felt that I was too dangerous to rule. They plotted against me behind the scenes and finally overthrew me when my guard was let down. I should have just lied down in that dank and dingy sewer, accepted my fate and died. But, I persevered. I continued when I shouldn't have, rose back to power and reclaimed my throne from the ones who betrayed me."

"But the end of my conflict would not come. One after another, other groups rose up against me and one by one, I put them down. As this continued, I noticed something surprising."

"Conflict drives change. As long as there was war and death, fighting and killing, we were continuing to develop new weapons, scale new heights and use powers we earlier thought were impossible. This eventually led to a fusion of body and machine, representing the pinnacle of my world's technology."

"When I came out of that chamber, my body a combination of machine and flesh, I gave up my connection to the world and became something different, something better. I became, a Siren."

"Soon I had built an army of Sirens and after gaining control of the world, I set my sights to this one and the treasure it had. During our first war, we were halted thanks to the Azur Lane and were forced to retreat. In defeat, I learned what went wrong, what mistakes were made and not to repeat them again. That's why when we returned, our power was undeniable. This would should have already been mine."

"If it weren't for me," he said, interrupting her.

"But I digress. The reason why I'm doing this, why I'm waging another war is because only through conflict can we evolve. We become stronger and better, we reach new heights by pushing ourselves to new limits. We become better than what we used to be."

"You and I both know this better than anyone else on this planet. Our world is rife with conflict and through that conflict, humanity has reached new heights. Sticks became spears, spears became swords, swords became guns and guns turned into one-hit-kill buttons. All of this, this evolution came about only because conflict is an eternal force."

"See, that's where you and I are different," said the Commander "I've never believed that conflict is something eternal. To me, it's more like a storm. When it hits, its devastating and painful but in the end, the storm passes. A new day dawns and when it does, you try and make sure you're ready for the storm the next time it comes around."

"Such naivete," said Omega, shaking her head "you only say that because of the life you've lived. If you lived my life, if you went through what I did, you'd be just like me."

"But, then again, if you were like me, this world and it's people wouldn't have embraced you like they do now."

"It seems Commander, we've reached an impasse. I believe that war and fighting is an eternal force, but you on the other hand, believe that conflict is temporary. This war isn't kind enough to let both ideals exist."

"There's only one way an outcome can be reached," she added, forming a sword in each hand.

"In the end," he said, drawing his sword "it had to be this way."

The sound of Takao's cannons echoing through the battlefield signaled the start of the battle. On the seas, the Siren Fleet and Azur Sky started firing at each other. On the land, the leaders of their respective fleets ran towards each other, their swords drawn. The pair met in the middle, their swords clanging together.

The final battle had begun.


	35. Two Different Ideals

The location of the final battle may not have meant much to him, but to the members of his fleet, it held a great meaning. This area, dotted with small islands, with some forests here and there was called 'Red Zone.' As the name implies, it was a dangerous location because it was here where the Sirens arrived and started the second war. Perhaps the Siren leader felt that this location was most fitting to end her opposition as it was here where the war began.

As Enterprise fired arrow after arrow, flanked by Akagi to her right and Kaga to her left, the entire weight of the worlds forces right behind her, they charged the Siren fleet with everything they had.

Thanks to their speed, Z23, Cleveland and Belfast had gone ahead of the pack, the trio meaning to land the first strike. Cleveland fired in an arc, her cannons landing multiple blows on the cruisers and destroyers that were closest to her. Then, Belfast and Z23 capitalized on this moment by firing into the holes on the ships, dealing more damage than their regular attacks.

Z23 pointed her newly created weapon at a Siren cruiser and fired a single, might energy beam that tore through the ship's armor in a single strike.

"The retrofits and weapon improvements are really proving their worth," she said and saw Hiryuu and Soryuu unleash a barrage of airplanes onto a group of Siren ships. It allowed Takao and the other long-range shooters to down the ships from a safe distance.

On their journey to the location, the Commander laid out his plan to the fleet. The aircraft carriers were the central force, leading the attack. They were backed by the cruisers and heavy cruisers to their left and right flanks. Immediately behind the aircraft carriers were the destroyers and last were the Battleships.

Convention strategy dictated that the aircraft carriers should be placed in the back line, providing long-range support. At the start of the attack, the cruisers and heavy cruisers would attack the flanks of the Siren fleet, purposely pushing them closer together and forcing their enemy into a 'V' formation. It was strange to put some of his best fighters in the firing line like that, but as he continued to explain his plan, the fleet saw the method in his madness.

**000000000000000**

The Commander slid back from the force of the last attack. Wasting no time, he quickly ran back to Omega and attack her. The two met in the middle, their swords clashing together. Since their last encounter, Omega spent a considerable period of time developing herself and adapting her body with new techniques in combat. These changes allowed her to slowly push him back, despite the latter continually trying to stand his ground.

Then, suddenly he stopped holding her back and immediately moved to the right. This caused Omega to falter, allowing him to strike her back and ram her into the ground. She rolled away, narrowly avoiding his foot then rose to her feet and fired an energy barrage at him, only to see him deflect the volley with little effort.

As the two attacked each other with a barrage of sword swings, landing superficial cuts on each other's sides, Omega asked the question…

'How?'

Omega had the technology and superior fighting styles programmed into her. She had every advantage she needed to overwhelm him, yet that was not the case. Throughout their fight, the two were on equal footings, with one gaining an advantage over the other through the smallest of openings.

Again, the question remained, how did the Commander, who was a human manage to hold his own against a physically and technologically superior enemy like Omega? The answer: experience.

Both he and Omega had had a tumultuous life. Omega lived in a war zone for much of her life. She knew conflict for much of her life and time after time, her world was continually ravaged by war. It was only after her and her people evolved into newer beings, did she come to know peace.

The same could be said for the Commander. A rough childhood and a long, difficult training period in the Army, followed by years of being deployed into war zones helped mold him into what he was now.

However, there was a disconnect between the way the two learned to fight. In Omega's instance, she had information on all forms of combat downloaded and placed into her mind. Compared to that, the Commander's training was him being constantly knocked into the ground with just a few instances of him landing a hit on his enemy.

Every block, counter and strike had practically been beaten into his body from a young age. Every time he struck, he remembered the hundred other times his opponent countered and attacked with a terrifying ferocity. Every time he blocked, he remembered the times when an enemy soldier shot him because his guard was lowered.

To put it simply, Omega's knowledge was downloaded into her. The Commander's knowledge was beaten into him.

This difference in combat training allowed him to overcome the obvious gap between the two species, leveling the playing field as a result.

Omega kept leaping back and firing at him, while he deflected her shots, all the while running to her and closing the distance.

**0000000000000000**

Enterprise, Akagi, Illustrious, Kaga and Hornet had become a team of their own, practically filling the sky with their airplanes and raining destruction on the enemy forces. Thanks to the five of them going on ahead and taking the brunt of the enemy's vanguard, the others were able to hold the line. Considering how the Siren fleet's frequency of attack was only growing worse, it meant the plan to constrain their movement was working.

A Siren Battleship fired at the group and Enterprise fired at the projectile, detonating it in mid-air. Then, she fired multiple arrows back at the Battleship. Akagi and Kaga then fired more airplanes at the nearby cruisers, preventing them from attacking Enterprise.

"You're slipping," commented Akagi.

**000000000000000**

Phoenix, Helena, Brooklyn, San Diego, Cleveland and the rest of the Light Cruiser division spread themselves along the left flank assaulting the Siren fleets and forcing them closer together, while picking off any stragglers that tried to escape. One such ship turned its cannons to fire at Noshiro, Curlew and Monteplier. Monteplier and Noshiro dodged but Curlew reacted too late and was slightly injured by some of the shrapnel.

"Curlew move to the back of the line," called out Cleveland.

"But what about the second part of the plan?" she asked, while Black Prince and Sheffield helped her back.

"When the time comes, we'll get to it," she replied.

The Siren ships took advantage of the small opening caused by Noshiro and a group of them charged the Light Cruiser Division. Yat Sen, Ning Hai and St. Louis attacked those ships along with Koln, Leipzig and Konigsberg.

"Cleveland," shouted Gloucester "we've passed the ten-minute mark."

"Alright then," said Cleveland "move to phase two of the plan."

In a surprising move, the aircraft carriers that faced the enemy forces head on suddenly split themselves down the middle, effectively opening a clear path past the battlefield.

Of course, it only looked like a clear path. Utilizing the same strategy the Sirens used when they attacked the main base at night, the Armada attacked the Sirens from left and right, limiting their movement and forcing them into the opening they created.

But as the Sirens neared the opening, the alien race was greeted by the spear and trident of two Saint Louis and Neptune.

"Come at me with everything you've got," shouted Satin Louis as loud as she could "None shall get past me and my spear."

As if to demonstrate her resolve, she leapt high into the air and cut through a Siren destroyer with ease. While still in the air, she turned to her right and fired a concentrated barrage against a Siren cruiser.

"Hey," shouted Neptune as Saint Louis landed next to her "don't forget about us."

"This is what we were born for ladies," declared Monarch, standing her ground and firing volley after volley "stand firm and together, we will defeat the Sirens."

With the six PR class ships attacking the Siren fleet head on, the battle moved into the second stage. As this happened, the main ship divisions moved in closer, further limiting enemy movement, all the while not letting up on the assault.

While this happened, Yat Sen and members of her group met up with Belfast and the Royal Maid Squad in the middle of the battlefield. When they did, the two teams went past the ships, their destination was the device the Sirens were trying to protect.

**0000000000000000**

Her opening came when a stray beam grazed his right eye hampering his vision. Seeing this opportunity, Omega attacked from the right side. Though he was able to respond and defend her attack, she noticed the slight delay in his reaction speed.

Now that his field of vision was now cut in half, Omega capitalized by moving to his blind spot and stabbing him in the arm. The Commander yelled out in pain, dropping his sword but Omega did not let up. She spun around on one foot, her other foot crashed into his head and knocked him to the ground.

She then stepped back, avoiding his leg sweep and fired at him multiple times, forcing him to roll away. The Commander rose to his feet and ran towards Omega, ready to strike. When he was near, he raised his sword up and Omega raised both her swords up. At the last second though, he let go of the sword and hit her with a punch to her chest. Omega staggered back a little but he was on her before she could take another breath. His right arm reached back, grabbing the sword before it could hit the ground and attacking with a vertical swing that landed a deep blow on Omega.

Omega tried moving to his blind side but he quickly moved in the same direction, preventing her from taking advantage of this opportunity. He then spun around and attacked her with a kick to the side of the head but Omega ducked down, narrowly avoiding the attack. While still turning, he lowered his leg and came at Omega once again, but this time, with a leg sweep. However, Omega reacted quicker and leapt up.

In the air, she grabbed him by the head and quickly tilted her body forward so she could ram him into the ground. The Commander retaliated to this by wrapping his legs around her arm and tossing her onto the ground as well. Then he grabbed his sword and stabbed her in the chest. Omega yelled in pain, raising herself and him up, then ramming him into the ground. She did this three times before getting onto him and letting loose a barrage of fists aimed at his face and chest.

Omega stopped when she found he could no longer defend himself. Satisfied, she took a few steps back and let out a tired sigh.

Imagine her surprise when she saw a bloodied Commander rise to his feet, holding his sword and still ready to fight.

Omega dismissed her swords, resorting to using her fists. She held up both her fists and said warily "final warning Commander, stay down."

He scoffed at the threat and with an arrogant smile he said "funny, I was about to tell you the same thing."

**0000000000000000**

One of the many barrages fired from the Siren fleet managed to hit home, knocking back Ark Royal and a few other girls that were near her.

"Ark Royal," shouted Queen Elizabeth, coming to her "are you okay?"

"I can see them," she said, smiling "little angelic destroyers come to take me home."

"She's fine," said Queen Elizabeth, dropping her down and chiding herself for being worried in the first place.

**000000000000000**

Roon ran from ship to ship, either punching holes in them with her fists or punching holes in them with her weapons. On the ground, Monarch bombarded the Sirens in front of her. Izumo, Saint Louis and Neptune were standing on top of a mountain of downed ships, firing or striking down anything in their path.

Further ahead of them were Belfast, Yat Sen and their respective groups. The two teams had made significant progress in getting to the device, but that came to a halt when a large squad of battleships blocked their path. This situation was made worse when they were joined by two dozen destroyers, who were now pushing them back.

Sirius and Dido both leapt ahead of the groups, Dido cutting down a Siren destroyer ahead of her and Sirius doing the same. A Battleship capitalized on this, shooting them in the back and sending them crashing down to the ground.

"Damn it," cursed Belfast quickly coming over and picking the two of them up.

"Sheffield, take them to Vestal."

"But what about the rest of you?" asked Sheffield.

"We'll figure something out. Now go."

She nodded, taking the two maids from Belfast and retreating back to the medical tent.

"Do you have any plans?" called out Yat Sen, all the while firing a barrage of shots at the Sirens, alongside Ning Hai and Ping Hai.

"I was hoping you did," replied Belfast.

**000000000000000**

"Now's the time everyone," called out Warspite to the rest of her division "move forward."

The rest of the Battleships started advancing towards Monarch, all the while continuing their barrage.

**0000000000000000**

Two fists crashed into each other's faces and both of them were sent flying back. The Commander was quicker to get up and ran towards Omega, who kept firing at him. There was one shot that hit him in the foot, but instead of falling forward, he placed his hand on the ground and used his momentum to push himself forward, landing a double kick on Omega's chest.

This time, Omega was the one to quickly recover as she grabbed both of his legs and flung him right into a tree, knocking the wind out of him. Omega then came at him with a punch aimed at his face, but the Commander rolled away. He got to his feet and deflected a jab from Omega, quickly came in close and rammed his elbow into her face. She staggered back, wiped the blood from her nose and ran towards him, grabbed his head with both hands and forced him down, where she introduced him to her knee. The Commander's head arched back as a result and she pressed her advantage by punching him in the chest.

Omega ran to lift him up, but he reacted quicker and hit her with a leg sweep, knocking her off balance. He rose to his feet, kneeing her in the chest then moving behind her and ramming an elbow into her back. Omega quickly got up and formed her swords. She swung out wildly, landing multiple deep wounds into the Commander's chest, forcing him to move back. She charged him, intending to press the advantage, but he ran towards his sword and picked it up just in time to block a killing blow.

The two stood in a deadlock for a moment but the Commander was able to move to her side. In that instant, the two of them landed deep wounds on each other's backs, causing the pair to take a few steps back.

Omega was faster to recover and attacked with a double swing. Though the Commander blocked her attack, she countered by kicking him in the chest. Then she came forward and flung him into a tree. Before the Commander could recover, Omega appeared before him and thrust both her swords into his chest, pinning him to the tree. He swung out wildly at her in a vain attempt to land a strike, but it was a foregone conclusion.

Seeing that she had won, Omega turned around and raised her left arm. A holographic image of a progress bar appeared on top of which was a number showing how much progress was made. She smiled upon seeing the hundred percent being displayed then turned to the sky.

Omega, the Azur sky and the Siren fleet all saw a giant portal opening up in the sky. Through it came a monstrously sized ship, the size of three football stadiums. On its side were rows and rows of battleship cannons and in the center were two gigantic sized cannons, each one more than a hundred meters long and a hundred meters tall.

"At last," she said, smiling and raising her hands up to welcome the behemoth sized ship "the greatest weapon in my fleet is finally here."

"Now tremble before my might," she yelled and watched as the monstrously sized ship started attacking the army opposing it. The arrival of this ship meant that the momentum of the battle greatly shifted in her favor.

It was a shame though that she would not live to see the end.

As Omega turned around, hoping the Commander was alive long enough to see this ship, she saw that he was indeed alive, but no longer embedded into the tree she left him at.

With a single swing of her sword, the Commander cut her head clean off her shoulders, marking the single major difference between her and him. She may be a battle-hardened survivor, but she was a civilian, while he was a soldier. And soldiers, always go for the head.

Taking the other sword out of his body and ramming it into her chest, aiming for the heart, just to be a hundred percent sure, the Commander then turned his attention to the large ship flying ominously in the air and recognized it immediately.

It may have had all the trappings of a Siren ship, but the design, placement of weapons and the chill he felt down his spine upon seeing it, told him what ship it was.

"Commander," shouted Enterprise, sounding desperate, "what the hell is that ship?"

"A dreadnought," he said, giving name to the terror in the skies and the Sirens ultimate weapon.

Then, to his bad luck, he saw one of the cannons on the side, turning to him. The last thing he heard was Enterprise shouting at him to run before it all went black.

**(AN: sorry for taking so long to get this one done. It was partly because work started picking up a little and equally because I wanted the fight between the Commander and Omega to be brutal and intense.)**


	36. Whatever It Takes

In the time that the monstrosity called the dreadnought appeared onto the battlefield, nearly a quarter of the Azur sky was forced to retreat. Multiple injuries, knocked unconscious or in critical condition, the armada struggled to hold its own against the Siren's secret weapon.

One look at the size and number of mounted guns the dreadnought had and it became clear why it's presence was such a game changer. The rate of fire, the intensity of attacks, its thick armor and every second staying alive was nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps, the one good thing about the situation is that the fleet was able to take out all the other Siren ships, allowing them to focus all their attention on the Siren's ace.

"We're getting reports of major casualties from the Light Cruisers and Battleship divisions," called out Belfast "

"Tell Cleveland and Warspite to issue evacuation orders," shouted Enterprise, skidding to her left, narrowly avoiding an enemy barrage "if they can't fight send them back."

"But if we do that our advantage…."

"We don't have any advantage here," interrupted Akagi "that damn thing makes all our attacks look like a joke."

"She's right about that," said Friedrich, firing multiple shots at the dreadnought, only to see it land surface level damage on the ship.

"Not even my weapons can scratch the monster," she said, gritting her teeth angrily.

"We have to do something," said Roon, "otherwise that thing won't stop till we're all dead."

"Tell the divisions to break formations and spread out," said Akagi "as long as we're close together, we're only making it easy for that thing to hit us."

"I'll scan the body," said Saint Louis "there has to be some weakness in the armor we can exploit."

Enterprise and Akagi nodded and Saint Louis left to fulfill her objective. As much as their plans did address some of the immediate problems, it did little to change the overarching problem at hand. They needed a way to figure out how to stop that monster and fast.

**0000000000000**

An older man continually pounded his fists into a young child before throwing the boy into the nearby furniture.

"Useless piece of crap," said the man, spitting at the wounded child "not even worth the damn clothes I gave you."

"What's the point of having a child if you can't steal for your family from time to time?"

The older man dug into his pockets and pulled out a single cigarette. Then he put it in his mouth and lit it up with his lighter. After letting out a few puffs, he kicked the child in the chest once more then turned around and left.

That was his earliest childhood memory. He'd either get beat up for having a crack addict father or get beaten by his dad for having such a terrible mom. Either way, he was a punching bag for years, till he worked up the courage to run away.

For a many years, he lived his life on the streets. Living in squalor and filth, barely getting by, every day was struggle. Food was scarce and whenever there was, he'd have to fight for even the smallest morsels. Malnourished, weak and nearing death, he decided to enlist in the army. There, he'd have food, clothes, a roof over his head and basic cleanliness. Sure, it meant a harsh training period but that felt a lot better than a life on the streets.

It was during his training days, his life finally took a turn for the better.

The door to his cell room opened, letting in a little light. Through it came a menacing looking may, his laser-like stare recognizing the single living thing in the shadows.

"Well kid," said the man, with a sarcastic smile, "you're the first to have survived for so long in the Hole. Consider yourself lucky."

"I heard word that you got sent here for assaulting a superior officer. Why pray tell did you do that?"

"Because the piece of shit really pissed me off for no reason. And I've got an anger problem," he replied, still sitting on the ground, in the shadows.

"You and I both know that is a bold faced lie," said the older soldier, putting his arms on his sides "every incident of you attacking someone or getting into a fight, you've always told your superiors the same thing."

"Yet, the more I dig into those reports, the more I find out it has less to do with your anger issues and more to do with helping out your squadmates."

'I told you old man," he said, his voice brimming with anger "I've got an anger issue. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Why the hell is someone from high command coming all the way to see a bottom feeder like me?" he added.

"The thing is," said the older man "you may act like this loner type, but I see right through you. I don't know what kinda hell you been through growing up but there's potential in you to do good. Hell, there's potential in you to do great. Trouble is, not many people in the army see that."

"They'd rather be rid of you instead of risk putting a gun in your hand."

"And which camp do you sit in?" he asked, finally standing up.

"The former of course," replied the older man, smiling "you can come with me, realize your potential and put that 'anger' of yours to good use. Or, you can stew here in this wonderfully accommodating prison cell till they decide to get rid of you."

"You really make it sound like I got a choice," he said sarcastically "fair warning old man, none of my superiors could deal with me for more than a month."

"Well that's why records are meant to be broken," said the older man, extending his hand out.

That was when everything changed for him.

Watching every moment of his life play out in high definition, he imagined this must be what happens to people when they're about to die. It was nice to see that a life which started off bad took a turn for good. There were plenty of chances for it to get worse but it didn't. It was a long and rewarding life, but it wasn't over yet.

There was still one fight left and luckily enough, he had enough strength in him just for that.

**00000000000000**

Slowly and weakly, he opened his eyes. His breathing was ragged and painful, his body felt like it weighed a ton and he had the mother of all headaches.

"…..mander," said a voice, but he was still trying to get over the stinging headache.

"Commander," said the voice again, this time a little clearer than before.

"Enter, Enterprise," he said, staggering to his feet. Only then, did he notice how his left foot was bleeding and a bone was sticking out of his right foot.

"Thank goodness," she said, sounding relieved "when that thing turned its guns on you…"

"Sorry about that," he said, pushing his bone back into his body and gritting his teeth so that no one worried about him.

Slowly, he got back to his feet for a second time, then took a good look at the dreadnought.

"How bad?" he asked

"Really bad," replied Akagi "we've lost nearly all our forces since it appeared."

"'Lost?'"

"Had to send them to Vestal before it was too late," elaborated Enterprise.

"How many of you can still fight? Sound off."

"Enterprise"

"Akagi"

"Cleveland"

"Hornet"

"Friedrich"

"Roon"

"Saint Louis"

"Warspite"

"Illustrious"

"Belfast"

"Queen… Elizabeth"

"Eugen"

"Wales"

"Here's what you're going to do," he said "stick to one side of the dreadnought and fire at the cannons. If you can take out more than half the cannons on one side, then there's an opening."

"An opening for what?" asked Queen Elizabeth.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out. Stick to quick strikes and don't stay in a single place for too long."

"Alright," said the group and positioned themselves to the left side of the dreadnought and started attacking.

Watching this, the Commander was at a loss of ideas. Even if they were able to clear one side of the Siren supership, there was still the problem of its impenetrable armor. Add do that, the two giant rail guns and time was running out. He had to think of something to level the playing field or else, they were going to lose.

It was in this moment of desperation, he turned to Omega's corpse and for a moment, a crazy idea ran through his mind. Siren tech was a fusion of a living thing and a machine. The body might no longer work, but the tech could.

With that in mind, he grabbed his sword and cut off her left arm, then bent down and picked it up. Looking at the arm, he thought about how bad his idea was. There had to be another way, another plan to defeat the Siren dreadnought.

But when he heard the cannons firing at the ocean waters and saw his team scrambling to take out some of the cannons, he remembered his promise.

The Commander then took out the communicator in his ear and placed the severed arm near his left stub. The machines inside the alien arm came to life and a number of wires sprouted out, digging into his left stub.

He fell to his knees enduring the pain in silence, but when he could feel the wires dig through his arm and spread throughout his body, the pain became too much for him.

**00000000000000**

Queen Elizabeth fired multiple times at some of the cannons along with Friedrich and Roon. Then, they noticed one of the rail guns at the top gathering energy. They saw the barrels spinning in alternating sets.

"Everyone, get out of the way," shouted Friedrich "that thing's about to fire."

They saw the barrels now pointed at them and it seemed like the energy charge was complete. As it was about to fire, two energy beams from another location hit it, causing the rail gun to explode in a ball of fire.

"Sorry," he said, "that took a little longer than expected."

The team turned around, happy to see the Commander, but their joy faded when they saw what happened to him.

Where once there was a stub, there was now a mechanical left arm, mutated to fit his size and body. The many cuts and wounds he took during the fight were covered up with pieces of metal. Add to that, his black hair and yellow eyes and it was understood why the group seemed a little hesitant to approach him.

"Commander?" said Enterprise, cautiously taking a step forward.

"Please, don't come any closer," he said, holding his hand out "it's taking everything I have to not attack you."

"What is going on Commander?" asked Illustrious "what happened to you?"

"Took a risk and for now, it's paying off," he replied then opened and closed his left hand.

"The only way to stop that thing is by taking out the engine," he said, turning their attention back to the real problem

"And the only way to do that is to get onboard," said Cleveland.

"Exactly, which is why all of you need to get out of her now."

"What?" asked Saint Louis

"I'll go up there and take out the engine," he said, floating in the air and was about to take off.

"Oh no you don't," said Enterprise and Akagi, grabbing him by the feet and pulling him back down.

"What the? Didn't I tell you not to come near me?"

"Well we had no other choice, given the circumstances," said Akagi.

"Commander," said Enterprise "by your own admission, your fighting two fights right now. You can't go up there on your own and think you can beat it."

"Then what do you suggest I do? Take someone with me?"

"No, take all of us," said Eugen "the more of us there are, the better our chances."

"I can't take everyone," he said, shaking his head "at most, I can only take two of you with me."

"Fine then," said Akagi, stepping forward "I volunteer."

"So do I," said Enterprise, doing the same.

The Commander was about to take their hands, when he suddenly convulsed forward and rubbed his head.

"Commander," shouted the pair, immediately coming and picking him up.

"Commander are you sure you can do this?" asked Saint Louis

"I have to," he replied, slowly standing on his own "Omega's weapons are the only things that can penetrate the Siren armor."

"Let's go," he said, holding Akagi and Enterprise's hands. Without saying anything else to the others, the trio took off, heading to the dreadnought.

As they drew closer to the ship, it's cannons on the side fired continually at them, in an attempt to slow them down. The plan would have worked, if it weren't for everyone on the ground giving them covering fire.

"Keep going everyone," shouted Hornet, firing as many airplanes as she could at the ship.

"Enterprise, Akagi," said Friedrich, using her internal communicator.

"I'm speaking to you on an encrypted channel so don't say anything," she continued "as far as I'm concerned, there's only one objective for the two of you: bring him back."

The two understood the weight of her words. As much as he was concerned about them, they were equally concerned about him. This was reflected just a few moments ago when the group wanted to come with him, but couldn't due to his physical limitations. As much as they all wanted to help him fight, especially when it mattered most, this was all they could do.

"No matter what," she added, sounding desperate "bring him back."

The trio now landed on the edge of the ship. As the port and starboard cannons turned to the three of them, the Commander raised both his hands up, producing a shield around all three of them to block their barrage.

Now understanding why he had to be here, Enterprise and Akagi started firing at the barrels of the cannons just as they were about to fire. Their attacks detonated the ammunition inside and did twice as much damage as their regular attacks.

"Let's go Commander," called out Enterprise.

Nodding to her, the Commander pushed forward, all the while maintaining the shield. While he protected them, Akagi and Enterprise made sure each shot count. They could see how the enemy barrage was taxing his mind, making it harder for him to concentrate. Knowing that time was of the essence, the two displayed how dangerous they really were and fired airplanes and arrows into the cannon barrels, setting either side of the Siren dreadnought on fire.

Soon enough, the trio reached the second rail gun, which was about ready to fire. Akagi and Enterprise both wondered if it was possible, if the Commander's shield was strong enough to block a point-blank shot from a weapon ten times their size.

Neither of them wanted to risk it and instead fired down the barrels of the rail gun. However, they were surprised to see that the attack did not have the intended effect.

"Both of you," he said, turning to them "duck"

They did as told and the Commander lowered the shield. Then, he turned his left arm into a gun and fired a concentrated energy beam right down the centre of the rail gun. The energy beam was like a sword and sliced the giant gun in half.

The only problem was, it took a lot of energy from the Commander, who now fell forward, unable to handle the stress.

He could hear their voices, the voices of a millions Sirens screaming in his mind. They all told him to kill, to kill the two behind him, kill the others below and everyone else recovering a little further away. It would be easy for him to do it. With his new mutation and Omega's power, there was nothing stopping him.

'That's right,' he thought 'I have all the power I could ever want.'

'I could do anything. No, I can do anything. I could rule this world and theirs. I could, I could use the Sirens, change them, make them a force for good.'

'But they're not going to let that happen,' said an unfamiliar voice.

'They're going to stop you.'

'They don't want you to have that power.'

'They'll all turn on you.'

'Kill them'

'Kill them'

'Kill them'

'Kill them'

'Kill them'

'Kill them all.'

His mind was made up, he opened his eyes and turned to his two allies.

"Something's wrong," said Enterprise, tapping Akagi on the shoulder.

"Commander," shouted Akagi, seeing him and immediately noticing he was not himself "Commander don't do this."

"Damn it Commander," said Enterprise, forming an arrow "don't make me do this."

But he remained silent. The moment he took a step towards them, the pair knew that they were too late. Try as he might, the Commander had succumbed to the Siren infection and was now one of them.

Hesitant but seeing no other options, Enterprise fired an arrow. However, because of her mindset, the arrow did not hit him in the chest or stomach. Instead, it hit him on the side.

Advancing towards them, he suddenly noticed something shining on the ship deck. Upon further inspection, he found that it was his badge, which was probably knocked off of him from Enterprise's attack.

'The badge,' he thought, remembering the moment when Hood pinned it to his shirt, entrusting the fate of everyone in this world to him.

Then, he remembered Yorktown's smiling face and the kids in her class. Unicorn, Foote, Spencer, Thatcher, Fletcher, Charles and the rest.

He remembered Friedrich, Tirpitz and everyone else. One by one, the faces of Belfast, Illustrious, Eugen, Hornet, Wales, Cleveland, Saint Louis, Friedrich, Roon, Monarch, Neptune and everyone else flashed by his mind. At the end of it, he saw Enterprise's and Akagi smiling at him.

'Whatever it takes,' the prayer echoed through his mind once again.

Now, on his knees, clutching his head with his right hand, Akagi and Enterprise saw him raise his left arm up, then hit the deck with all his might. They saw how his fist had gone through the armor, then saw him tear off a chunk of the deck and throw it away.

As they came closer, they noticed a large blue orb glowing underneath the deck. Realizing what it was, the two wasted little time in assaulting the ship's core causing it to detonate. Almost immediately, they felt their footing turn bad, as the dreadnought could no longer remain flying in the air and was now crashing into the ground.

"Let's get out of here," he said, extending his hands out to both of them. They both grabbed his arms and together, the three of them flew off the ship, heading for a nearby island. On seeing this, the rest of the group headed in the same direction.

Now that they were safe and sound, the Commander quickly leapt back, putting some distance between them. Then, he grabbed his left arm and started to pull it off. As he did, he could hear the Siren voices growing louder and angrier. Their voices were banging on the inside of his mind, making it almost impossible to have a single thought.

That was when he noticed the rest of the group coming up the hill.

"Saint Louis," he called out, "cut off my arm. Do it now."

Without hesitation, Saint Louis came forward and with her spear, she sliced off the mutated arm in a single swing. The Commander then grabbed the arm and flung it into the air, where it was incinerated by a combined attack from Friedrich and Roon.

They all watched the dreadnought crash into the ocean, sending gallons of water into the sky.

"Is it…. Over?" asked Warspite, looking around.

"it is," replied Wales, as she and everyone else saw the Siren dreadnought sinking into the ocean.

"It's finally over," said Eugen, sighing in relief "that was…. That was too intense."

"Ohhhh I can't move my legs," said Queen Elizabeth.

"I for one would love to sleep in my room for a whole week," said Illustrious.

"I second that," added Belfast.

"I guess we'll have plenty of time to rest, now that the war's over, right Commander?" asked Enterprise, turning around. Her smile faded when she saw the metal that covered his body was gone, re-opening the wounds inflicted on him.

"Yeah," he said, with a weak smile and the color draining from his face "you all finally have the peace you….. deserve."

"Commander," shouted Enterprise, running to him and catching him as he fell down.

"No, no, no," said Akagi, tears forming in her eyes as everyone came around him "Commander, you can't. You can't go."

"We need to take him to Vestal," shouted Hornet "now!"

"It's too…. Late for me," he said.

"Don't you dare give up," shouted Wales "not now. Not after everything that's happened."

"That's right," said Warspite "you have to recover Commander, you have to… come back."

"Why?" asked Enterprise, crying as she held on to him "why did you do that? Why did you put your life at risk like that?"

"It was…." He said, but coughed up some blood "….. the only way."

"This isn't how it was supposed to end," said Roon, who could not hold back her emotions and was sobbing terribly "not like this."

"I'm sorry….. for that, but you….. shouldn't be …. Sad."

"And why not?" shouted Enterprise "you're going to die. Even if we rush you to the hospital now, it'll still be too late. How can you be okay with that?"

"Because… I found what I was looking for my whole life," he replied "a place…. To call my…. Own."

"And I'm glad…" he said, reaching out to Akagi, who immediately came and held his hand "that I got to protect you….. and everyone else."

Enterprise saw him slowly reach out and hold her hand before placing it on top of Akagi's. Then, he put his hand over both of them and said "enjoy the peace, you all fought so hard for."

With the last remnants of his strength, he smiled at them and then he became silent. Everyone could see the light fading from his eyes and soon enough, there was nothing left.

"Commander?" called out Akagi, slight moving him but no response.

"Commander," said Enterprise, clutching him tightly in the hope that some response would come.

Cleveland fell to her knees and covered her eyes. Hornet lowered her hat, her fist trembling. Belfast did her best to hold her emotions in, while Illustrious cried on her shoulder. Saint Louis shouted as loud as she could, venting her frustration. Wales kept rubbing her face, but tears continued flowing.

'I'm sorry Bismarck,' thought Friedrich, tears rolling down her cheeks 'I couldn't protect him.'

"What's the point of having peace if you're not there to share it with us?" cried Enterprise, "please Commander, come back."

It should have been a joyous day. Defeating the Sirens and ending the war was supposed to be something a momentous occasion, filled with parties and music.

But when the group met with the rest of the Armada and then headed back to base, there was no celebrating. The war was won and peace was restored. Yet victory only came through the sacrifice of their beloved Commander.

(AN: yep, the story's wrapping up now)


	37. The End

When he opened his eyes, he expected to be back in that place. The verdant green fields filled with flowers of all different colors. He thought he'd be greeted by the six heroes of the last war and then spend eternity talking about all manner of subjects ranging from what type of tea you like to what was your most embarrassing memory.

But when he opened his eyes, he found that he was not in that place. Instead, he was in a hospital. The plain colored ceiling and smell of medicine were enough of an indicator.

"Hey," said a voice, as he rose up "he's awake, he's awake."

He turned around and saw a man darting to the door. The young doctor flung the door open and ran out, to call someone else, someone more experienced. When an older looking man in a white lab coat and three pens in his front pocket, appeared, all his doubts were cleared.

According to what they said, as he was leaving the base, a disgruntled ex-soldier detonated a bomb near him, intending to get back at the navy for discharging him. He was unfortunately caught up in the blast, lost his left arm and was in a coma for six months. It was strange, considering that more than a few seasons passed, but in reality, it seemed as though only half a year passed.

In the time that he was unconscious, much had happened in the Navy. For starters, many of his squadmates came to him on their day off, spending the day with him and keeping an eye on him in the hopes he woke up. Additionally, the corrupt Sergeant that got him discharged in the first place was busted for abusing his power on many occasions.

After the doctor explained this to him, he was greeted by his squadmates and friends. As much as he was happy to see them and talk to them after so long, there was one prevailing thought running through his mind?

'Was it a dream?'

On one side everything that happened to him did indeed feel like a dream. A world filled with human manifestations of famous ships, an invading alien force, being the leader of one group, meeting everyone, the war; all of it did sound like something that was the product of a few too many good drinks. It is entirely possible that his mind, in an attempt to cope with what had happened with him could concoct an insane dream in order to placate him.

It was a thought he wrestled with, while he was slowly recovering. Another plus point for him was the Navy had agreed to reward him with a mechanical arm. It wasn't as fancy as the types seen in movies and took a while to get used to, but he was able to adapt to it in time, learning how to maintain it and repair it as well.

After an unknown amount of time passed, he was discharged from the hospital. Instead of having a big party and celebrating his new life, he had another idea in mind.

Finding a way to get back to that world.

As much as he wanted to dismiss everything that happened to him in that world, he could not do it. The memories, the experiences, the emotions he felt when all that happened was too vivid for him to write off as 'just a dream.'

This was why he began looking for a way to get back to that world.

**Three months later**

The door to a café in some part of the world opened, the sound of the ringing bell alerting the waiter at the table.

"Hey there honey," she said, greeting the lady at the door "take a seat anywhere and I'll be with you shortly to take your order."

The lady nodded and took a seat next to a man dressed in a fake leather jacket with a cap on his head. She eyed him scarfing down his bread and eggs then drank the glass of juice. She then saw him digging into his pocket and taking out the money needed to pay for the meal.

"That was a pretty heavy meal," she said to him, but he did not respond. Instead, he got up from his seat and headed out the door.

"Now that's not very nice," she said turning her chair and addressing him "I spent a pretty long time searching for you and you're just going to brush me off? Where are your manners, Commander?"

Hearing those words, the man immediately stopped. He turned around and the woman saw him do his best to hold back the anger inside him.

"What the hell are you doing here," he said, his fists shaking "Omega?"

**0000000000000000000**

In a land similar to what is known, yet ever so slightly different, two females, dressed in the country's traditional attire stood at a memorial. Together, they bowed and prayed to the spirits of those lost to guide them through their life and watch over them from up above.

When that was done, the two women departed the cemetery and made their way to the entrance of the shrine.

"It's a pretty nice memorial you built," said the woman on the left

"He'd probably hate it," said the woman on the right "say something about how his jaw doesn't look that bad."

"No, he wouldn't,"

"Yes, he would. Plus he'd probably not like being in the same category as Amagi and the others. He'd say something like 'I was just finishing what they started.'"

The woman on the left chuckled a little at the idea.

"You're coming for the party right?" asked the woman on the left "please don't say no or anything."

"I'm not sure if I should," said the other woman "seeing everyone else there, Belfast, Z23, Yorktown, it might just ruin the mood."

"Well if we're going to be miserable," said the woman on the left "let's all be miserable together."

"Enterprise," said the fox-eared woman on the right "when did you know….. that you liked him?"

"Ah well, that was something I felt almost right off the bat," replied Enterprise to Akagi "when I was brought back to this world, I said that I was going to help him. His first response was not to worry about him but to go help Z23."

"Here he was getting his ass kicked by Hornet and when his first chance of help comes, the only thing he can think about is protecting his other teammate."

"After that, he was able to talk Hornet down and keep me from killing my sister. As I saw him hold my sister so sweetly, I thought to myself 'he's the sort of guy I'd happily fight for.'"

**0000000000000000**

"There ya go," said the waitress, placing two plates of bread and eggs on the table. One for the man with the leather jacket and one for the woman that recently entered.

"Please don't use that fork to stab me in the eye," said Omega, addressing how much he was eyeing the fork on the table.

"How? How are you here?" he asked, while she started eating her food.

"The same way that you're here I guess," she replied "oh and please, no Omega alright? I go by Alice now."

"The same fake name you used back there"

"A fake name there is a real one here," she said, trying to lighten the mood, but found her joke did not land "at least don't let your food get cold."

"Why are you here?" he asked, having his second breakfast in the day "what do you want?"

"I came to give you a prize," she replied.

"What?"

"You heard me. It's only fair you get a prize after everything that happened. I mean seriously, saving the world and the only thing you got was a trip back to this place? That's pretty depressing if you ask me."

"Fine the, out with it. Give me your prize and be on your way."

At this Omega-Alice reached into her jacket. He held his fork and knife threateningly, ready to pounce on her if she showed even the slightest hint of hostility towards him.

Imagine his surprise when he saw her take out a glowing-blue cube with a white light in the center.

"A wisdom cube?"

**0000000000000000**

"Time passed and I saw him grow from a strong leader into an admirable Commander," she added "at times I'd often wonder how the two of us would live after the war was over. We'd probably just laze about all day or maybe I'd do that while he helped Yorktown in her classes."

"He really loved those kids didn't he?" said Enterprise's companion "I'd often get jealous of how much time he spent around Unicorn, Aulick and Kisaragi and not spend much time with us."

"He didn't just love the kids Akagi," countered Enterprise, "he loved this world and all of us on it."

"And in return, everyone loved him back, some more than others."

"I can imagine when it happened for Z, Cleveland and Belfast," said Enterprise "hell, I can imagine Roon fell for him the moment she saw him, but when did it happen for you Akagi?"

"Well it certainly wasn't a love at first sight deal," said Akagi "when I first saw him, I thought he was pretty plain and weak looking."

"It happened when our forces were fighting each other and that Siren attacked us. I thought for sure that it was the end for me and the Sakura Empire. Then I felt like fate was laughing at me when I saw him of all people appear."

"At first I was angry, I hurled abuses at him and cursed him to no end. Then, when I had no energy left, no options left, I begged him to save them, save everyone. As I saw him approach me, he put his hat on my head. It was in this miniscule moment, just as he was turning around and heading to the beach, I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"This look, this fierce, terrifying look in his eyes and it sent shivers down my spine. Partly because I didn't think he could ever look that scary and also because it reminded me so much of Amagi."

"I heard she was a beautiful woman," said Enterprise "hard to image that she could look menacing."

"That was what's so special about her. When she was with us, with her friends, she looked beautiful, perfect. I sometimes imagine that if she were alive, he'd probably ask her to marry him the moment he saw her."

Enterprise laughed a little, imagining that happening.

"But when it was time to fight, she was something else Enterprise. Her look alone was enough to scare anyone and when you see her coming at you, the only thing you could do was pray your affairs were in order."

"So he looked like her for a moment?" asked Enterprise.

"Yeah. And as I watched him leave, heading to the battle, I thought maybe, just maybe I could bet the future of my people on him. After seeing him defeat the Sirens, I made my decision and you know the rest."

"You entrusted the fate of everyone in the Sakura Empire to his hands and he didn't let you down."

"Not even once," added Akagi.

**0000000000000000**

"How do you have one of those?" he asked, eyeing the surroundings in case anyone saw the alien object.

"Perks of Siren tech," she replied "I kept one on me in the event something happened and I was sent to some other world."

"I don't understand, the cubes can only revive the dead. It's not like they're a wish granting tool or something."

Despite his statement, the look on Alice's face told him that they were indeed as he had stated.

"What?"

"Yep. They're Aladdin's lamp, the genie in a bottle. One of these means that you get a wish. At least, that's what I've found out when researching them. By the way, what made you think these things could only revive the dead?"

"When I was fighting Hornet, I got knocked into a stack of these things. At the time, I thought about how much we needed some help and when help did arrive, I figured that's what they could do."

"I can see how that works. And with the lack of wisdom cubes on the planet, you'd think they would only have that use and nothing else."

"How did you find out that they could grant wishes?"

"Remember that time I told you about rising to power only to be toppled by one of my own? during that time I had one of these things with me and I wished for strength. It gave me that and then some, which is why I kept on me at all times."

"If that's the case, why didn't you use it and win the war?"

"Because the cubes stopped listening to me," she replied "after becoming Omega, I poured all my waking hours into learning everything I could about the Wisdom cubes. Try as I might though, the cubes never responded to me after a certain point. I always chalked it up to becoming a half-machine half-human but it could be anything else."

"Point is, I'm giving it to you," she said, sliding it over to him.

"What? Why?"

"Its your prize, for winning the war," she replied "while our forces battled the hell out of each other, you and I fought to the death and despite my best efforts, you succeeded. Instead of being there, you're back here, in this drab and boring world."

"Don't get me wrong though, if I won the fight but still died, I'd have gone back to that world, recouped my losses and came back to finish the job."

"That brings me to another question," he said, "all this time, I've been wandering the globe trying to find any connection to the other world. I stuck to a paper money and didn't stay in one place for too long. How did you find me?"

"Sorry, but I can't answer that," she replied "I do need to have a certain air of mystery around me."

"Look you can either stay here eyeing me up and down till you get tired, or you can take this little gift and go back to that world. I mean, it's not like this place is all that interesting."

As much as he did not want to trust Alice, what she said is true. Which was why, he came forward and took the cube. Then, he got up and made his way to the door.

"Thanks, Alice," he said, showing the slightest bit of gratitude to his enemy before leaving.

Alice watched him leave, heading to what looked like an alleyway, where he could not be seen. Once he was out of sight, the edges of her lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile.

She reached into her jacket and pulled out another cube. Unlike the one she first displayed, this one was black, with a purple glow coming from the center, giving it a very ominous vibe.

There was a large chunk of her story she didn't tell him. After finding out it's wish granting capabilities, she did indeed research them in order to understand how they worked and then, mass produce them.

It was around this time she became Omega and although the cubes responded to her, her other objective was fulfilled. The cube she had now may not be able to grant wishes, but it did have another use that was suited for the world she was in.

As she gazed at the cube, she touched the top of it and in response, the cube's ominous light started to glow bright and brighter, eventually enveloping the café.

"Go back to the world you love," she said, watching it's effects on the people inside "while I make plans for this world."

One thing 'Alice' realized after becoming the ruler of a planet was that she enjoyed it. She enjoyed having all that power and did not like returning to being a rich person in this world. She had every intention of turning this world into another Siren planet and now that her biggest opponent was gone, nothing would stop her.

**0000000000000000**

"Sorry," said Akagi, covering her face, not wanting to let Enterprise see how sad she was after reminiscing.

Enterprise understood her feelings. Everyone was hit hard upon hearing the news. Yorktown refused to speak to anyone for a week, Z23 couldn't stop crying, Belfast worked herself to death in order to not think about it, Roon went on a rampage, destroying a few islands and Friedrich well; the less said about her expressing her anger, the better.

Out of everyone in the fleet who mourned his loss, Akagi was hit by it the hardest. Losing her sister at a young age caused the girl to retreat into herself, acting like everything was fine on the surface, but hid her true emotions and feelings deep down. Then he came along and helped her revert back to her old self. Was she excessive? Overbearing? Difficult at times? Yes to all but that's just who she was.

"There, there Akagi," she said, rubbing her back in a rare show of friendship "it'll be tough, but we'll get over it."

"I don't want to get over it," she said, "I want him back."

"So do…."

Akagi continued covering her eyes, wiping her tears. Then she noticed Enterprise was silent. Curious, she asked "what's wrong? Nothing to say?"

Enterprise however continued to remain silent. Her attention was focused on what was ahead of her. Akagi turned in that direction to the entrance of the temple and froze.

**00000000000000000**

"Oh my god," he said, lying on the stone floor and looking up "that…. *gasp. That was, oh god that was tougher than I thought."

"who the hell puts so many stairs on a mountain?" he added, crawling to the top-most step and looking at the way back down "I seriously need to get a lift or a cable car or something because … *gasp…. No way am I doing that again."

Slowly rising to his feet and staggering a little, he held onto a nearby tree to keep from falling down, all the while having a tough time breathing. "How many steps were those? a hundred? five hundred maybe? You know what, if anyone asks I'll say it was a thousand."

"Sweet Jesus I am out of shape," he said, clutching his stomach "here's hoping I'm in the right place."

"Why'd I come here of all places though?" he asked looking up "I know I wanted to see them, I remembered thinking that when I came here."

"But…."

Then he stopped when he turned and saw a silver-haired woman and a fox-eared woman standing a little way away from him. He recognized their distinguishing characteristics almost immediately and froze.

"C-Commander?" asked Enterprise, her voice trembling.

He didn't say anything. Slowly and carefully, he came towards them, while they remained silent. When he was close, he reached up and gently touched their cheeks.

"Is this?" asked Akagi "is this a dream?"

"If it is," replied Enterprise "then I don't want to wake up."

"Enterprise, Akagi!," he shouted, pulling them in for a hug "Its you. It's really you."

All the emotions they kept inside. All the hurt and pain and devastation they felt could no longer be contained. Because of this, they started sobbing profusely, all the while embracing him as tightly as they could.

"Its you?" asked Enterprise, burying her head into his shoulder "it's really you?"

"Yep," he replied, crying as well.

"You jerk," shouted Akagi, angry at him, yet at the same time, refusing to let him go "do you know how much we cried? How much everyone in the fleet cried when you died?"

"I'm sorry,"

"You better be," added Enterprise.

"I promise I'll make it up to you. All of you."

"You'd better," said Akagi "you have a lot of making up to do Commander."

"I swear I'll never hurt you again. I finally found my place….." he said, pulling them in closer, as if that was possible.

Then, with tears rolling down his face, making him look like a sobbing mess, he moved his head back a little. Trying his best to form a smile, he looked at them and said "I'm home."

And with equally terrible smiles and sobbing faces Enterprise and Akagi said together "Welcome home, Commander."

**(AN: sorry for that red herring but I'm not the type that ends things on tragedies, so please don't hate me for this ending. This chapter does mark the end to the official story, but, after questorimperialist102296 asked for, I started thinking of a few bonus chapters. So there'll be a few more chapters which will end the story on a happy note.**

**PS: I left that end with Alice in case I ever come back to this story to do a follow up.)**


	38. One Wild Night

To say that his return was a tearful reunion was an understatement. The three of them continued crying for a good half hour before they could not cry any more. As fun as it was to meet them, they had to head back to base and deliver the good news. With that in mind, Enterprise, Akagi and the Commander went back home.

Nearing the edge of the beach, they spotted Yorktown, Cleveland and Unicorn. Unicorn was playing near the shore with Yorktown watching her, while Cleveland relaxed on one of the lawn chairs.

"Careful dear, don't stray too far from the shores now," said Yorktown, then noticing the ship in the distance. It looked like Akagi and Enterprise returned from the memorial site. But, when she looked closer, she noticed someone else was there.

She took a few steps forward and when the third person was recognizable, her mouth fell.

"Commander?" she said and Unicorn immediately heard her. She spun around, looking in the direction of the ship as well.

"Bro!," she yelled, as she and Yorktown waded through the waters. Meanwhile he had jumped off the ship and was also coming towards them.

"Commander," cried Yorktown, practically leaping forward and tackling him into the water.

As he got up, Unicorn also jumped him and knocked him into the water again.

"Commander," cried Yorktown, hugging him, with tears rolling down her eyes.

"Hey guys," he said, hugging them both "I missed you too as well."

"Commander," shouted a third voice. He then noticed Cleveland rushing to him and once again, leaping forward to tackle him into the water.

This was but the start of a very tearful but ultimately happy reunion. One by one, the rest of the fleet came to see him, expressing their happiness at his return by tackling him to the ground and hugging him. The best of this was when he met with Friedrich, who had unfortunately forgot her strength and when she fell on him, she accidentally buried him in the ground.

Word spread and for the next three days, the main base was packed with the whole fleet, all wanting to see the Commander. Plenty of tears were shed but at the end of the day, they were happy to have him back and he was equally happy to be back.

**0000000000000**

About a week after his return, everyone gathered in a large dance hall in the Sakura Empire Island. Here, the five leaders were dressed in formal clothes while the Commander was kneeling before them.

"I, Yorktown, leader of the Eagle Union," said Yorktown resting the tip of a sword on his back.

"I, Yat Sen, leader of the Dragon Empry," said Yat Sen, doing the same.

"I, Akagi, leader of the Sakura Empire," said Akagi, resting the tip of a katan on his back.

"I, Queen Elizabeth of the Royal Navy," said Queen Elizabeth

"And I, Tirpitz, leader of the Iron Blood," said Tirpitz.

"Recognize your efforts in uniting us all and helping end the war with the Sirens," they said together "in honor of your hard work and dedication, we bestow the title of Admiral."

They raised their swords up and he rose to his feet. As he did, everyone in the hall clapped. He turned around and smiled at them, wondering how much things would change for him thanks to his promotion.

"However," said Queen Elizabeth, causing the clapping to stop.

"We can't exactly forget your two greatest sins," said Yat Sen.

"My…. Sins?" he repeated.

"Yes," said Yorktown, smiling in a way that sent a chill down his spin "don't tell me you don't know about your mistakes?"

"Um…."

"As much as it is important to highlight all that you've done for our fleet," said Tirpitz.

"We can't exactly forget that you're the only person in the history of this world who made everyone here cry, not once but twice."

"Ah wait a second.."

"It is important that you are also punished for your actions. Which is why…."

"You have been demoted back to Commander," they said together.

"HUH?"

"That's right," said Queen Elizabeth looking down on him "spend the rest of your life making it up to us, Commander."

As much as this felt pretty out of left field, he couldn't deny their accusations. The only thing he could do was take it in stride.

"Now that that's done," said Tirpitz with a clap. This was followed by the sound of music filling the room "With that out of the way, let the party commence. Everyone, please help yourself to the food located on either side of the hall."

"You know you guys could have sent me a memo or something," he said, turning to all five of them.

"True," said Yat Sen "but then we wouldn't have an excuse to throw a party."

He nodded in agreement "by the way, this music sounds pretty similar to the stuff I hear on my world."

"Remember how I say sometimes books from your world come to ours?" said Yorktown "sometimes we also get these circular plastic discs. After analyzing them we found that they're used to store music."

"And since this is the sort of music you normally dance with," said Akagi, quickly closing the gap between her and the Commander "you're going to be my dance partner Commander."

"Huh?"

"Oh no you don't," said another voice as he was yanked out of Akagi's grasp and was now held by Enterprise.

"No way am I letting you dance with the Commander first," she said.

"Looks like the entertainment part of tonight's party has already begun," mused Yat Sen.

"Hey get back here with my Commander ya stupid eagle," barked Akagi.

"Your Commander, how dare you?" shouted Enterprise.

As he was pulled back and forth by the two, a third entrant entered the contest. In regular fashion, he was suddenly yanked out of their grasps and found himself in the center of the dance stage with Cleveland.

In a surprising twist to her usual clothes, Cleveland wore a pair of black pants, a white shirt and tie with a waistcoat on top. Although this did little to dispel the 'tomboy-ish' character, the Commander could not help but notice how she looked better in those clothes than he did.

"Sorry girls," said Cleveland, smugly "this first dance is with the Commander and I."

Although many of them in the hall were annoyed at how Cleveland got to dance with him first, seeing the two of them dance had an unintended side effect. Seeing Cleveland look good in guy's clothes made everyone imagine a male version of her 'dominating' and overpowering a weak and vulnerable Commander.

This desire would later manifest itself in a series of books sold by Akashi and Shiranui, but that's a story for another day.

While he was dancing, Roon held two beverages in her hand and chuckled evilly.

"Let them fight over the Commander as much as they want," she said, digging into her pocket and pulling out a small vial of liquid. She then opened it and poured the contents into one glass.

"I may not win the battle, but I will certainly win the war," she chuckled and was about to make her way to the Commander. However, some of the children bumped into her from the side, causing Roon to stumble a little.

"What was that for?" she said, glaring at the kids.

"GAaaah," shouted Mutsuki "it's Roon."

"She's going to eat our souls," yelled Kisaragi and the girls immediately ran off in different directions.

"I am not going to eat your…." shouted Roon, but noticed her left hand was empty. Concerned, Roon turned in the direction she fell and found that the glass with the tainted drink was now sinking into the very large bowl of punch.

"That can't be good," she said, watching the glass sink further down.

Meanwhile the Commander had finished his dance with Cleveland and was immediately whisked away by Enterprise for another song. This went on with one song after another till it was late at night and the Commander had danced with almost everyone in the hall. Needless to say, he was incredibly tired.

**00000000000000000**

Since they were celebrating on the Sakura Empire's Island, Akagi invited some of the girls to rest and relax in the hot springs.

And so, Belfast, Friedrich, Roon, Cleveland, Enterprise, Hornet, Queen Elizabeth, Yat Sen and Akagi were all relaxing in the warm water.

"OOOOOHHHHH," said Hornet "this is the best."

"I can feel my troubles," said Queen Elizabeth sinking into the waters "washing away."

Yat Sen quickly brought Queen Elizabeth back to the surface before she sank any deeper.

"Akagi," said Enterprise, noticing their hostess was not present, "where the…. get down from there."

What Enterprise was referring to was that Akagi was now climbing up the partition.

"And why would I do that?" she asked.

"Because it's an invasion of privacy."

"Oh pssshhh. It's not wrong if he doesn't spot us. And besides, haven't you wondered if the picture does the real thing justice?"

Enterprise knew what she was referring to. In fact, everyone present knew what she was referring to. The infamous 'grand prize' picture Belfast gave during the competition she held.

Just then, the group heard the sound of the door opening.

"Wait a minute," said Hornet "did you invite anyone else?"

**00000000000000000000000**

"Good grief that was a long night," he said, taking his shirt off and unscrewing his left arm. He put the shirt, arm and his pants into one of the baskets, then opened the door.

"Akagi asked me to try these hot springs and to be honest, I've wondered if they're like the ones that's back at home."

The Commander stepped into the bathing area. Following bath etiquette, he rinsed himself a little then slowly slipped into the hot spring,

"Oh, this is even better than what's back at home," he said, tilting his head back.

"I can already fell my troubles washing away."

"My legs are sore from all that dancing. Sure one or two is nice but dancing with half the fleet? Hmmm then again, I honestly shouldn't complain. After all, how often does one guy get the chance to dance with that many beautiful women?"

It was at this point he noticed the steam filling the area had started to dissipate. When enough steam had gone, it was revealed that in his weariness, the Commander had accidentally gone into the wrong room and was in the girl's section.

The group that came in before him stared at him in shock, while he stared at them in embarrassment. In what could only be described as a reaction that was ripped out of a cartoon show, the Commander dashed out of the room with such speed, there was a smoke outline of him.

For a good few minutes, everyone present remained silent. Some of them wondered how he made such a mistake, while others had 'other' thoughts to ruminate on.

"I will say this," said Roon, breaking the silence permeating the room "the picture does not do the real thing any justice."

On that, they all agreed.

**000000000000000**

Understandably a little more concerned than before, when the Commander opened the door to his room in the inn, he first checked to make sure this was indeed his room and not someone else's he accidentally wandered into.

Relieved that he was in the right place, he set up the bed and without taking too long, he fell asleep.

**00000000000000**

After an unknown period of time passed, he heard knocking on the door. Curious, he rose up from the bed and went to the door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Iz mi Comanduh," said a familiar voice, slurring her words. He opened the door and found a very tipsy looking Enterprise standing on the other side.

"Heay Commandurr," she said, smiling while swaying from side to side a little.

"Okay, we need to get you to your room before you hurt yourself," he said, holding her straight.

"But I alruddy foundmyroom," she said.

"Huh?"

"Dis iz my room,"

"No, this is my room," he said. 'This is my room, right?' he thought, questioning himself.

"Comandah, stop being so rude and lemmein," she said, pushing him forward. This caused him to lose his footing and fall on his back, followed by Enterprise falling on top of him.

"Mmmm, so warm," she said, resting on him "dis is noice. I'll go shleep nao."

"Hey," he said, shaking her, but it was to no avail. Enterprise was quietly sleeping on top of him.

"Hey Comamderr," said Enterprise, after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes?"

"Am I pretty?"

"Yes Enterprise," he replied in a monotone voice "you are a very pretty girl."

"Then why don't you like me?"

"Huh?"

He noticed Enterprise slowly rose up and pin him down with her hands so that she was on top of him.

"I was the first person that came to help you," she began "I helped you throughout this whole war. I was always there, by your side helping you…..."

"Enterprise," he said "why are you suddenly bringing this up now?"

"Because I can't stand the thought of seeing you with someone else," she replied "at first I couldn't understand why I was jealous seeing you with the others but the more and more it happened the more I realized how I feel deep down."

"I'm sorry for being a selfish woman Commander," she said "but I want you and I don't want anyone else to have you."

"Which is why…." she said, slowing coming closer..

"Hey wait, what are you doing?" he asked, but she didn't respond. Instead, she closed her eyes, puckered her lips and came closer.

"Enterprise think about what you're doing, you might come to regret it later. I mean just take a moment and think," he said, moving his head in a vain attempt to escape her hold, all to no avail.

Just then, the door to his room swung open and through it came a very angry Akagi.

"What the hell is going on here and what are you doing to the Commander?" she barked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm making him mine," replied Enterprise.

"She is not," he interjected "get her off me."

Akagi nodded in compliance and grabbed Enterprise by her arms and got her off of him. As much as Enterprise struggled to, her inebriated state made her less of a problem to tackle than usual.

"I had a feeling something was wrong when I saw you leaving," she said, standing between Enterprise and the Commander "but I didn't think too much of it and went to my room. I should have known you were up to something."

"Wait…." said the Commander "if you went to your room, how'd you wind up here?"

Realizing her verbal faux pas, Akagi's eyes widened in surprise and she looked away from his gaze.

"Good luck I guess," she replied with a shrug.

"Admit it," said Enterprise "you came here with the same reason I did. You wanted the Commander too, didn't you."

"Fine I admit it," she replied almost immediately "this was the perfect opportunity for us to get closer and I was not about to let some stupid eagle get in the middle of destiny."

"Destiny?" barked Enterprise "you two are not fated to be together."

"Says someone who doesn't understand fate at all," countered Akagi smugly "the Commander understands this as well don't you Comman… ah he's run away."

Darting through the empty halls, the Commander did his best to get as far away from his room as possible.

'What is going on with the girls?' he thought 'did something happen to them?'

As he rounded a corner, he accidentally crashed into someone, causing the two of them to fall down.

"Belfast," he said, coming forward and helping the woman he knocked down.

"Ah master, good. I was coming to look for you."

"Can it wait? something weird's going on with Enterprise and Akagi and I don't want to be around when…."

"Commander, I don't want to be your maid anymore."

"Well there's nothing wrong with that Belfast," he said, not running anymore "you're free to do what you want and I'll support your decision. But, can I ask why this sudden change in mind?"

"It's because you're such an airhead."

"Wait, whaaaa…" he said as Belfast pushed him into a storage closet.

"I'm done standing on the sidelines watching you move further and further away from me," she said, "before I know it you'll be with someone else and I'll have missed my chance. So no more being quiet. This is me, taking charge."

"Commander, I…." this was then followed by a swift knock to the head, causing Belfast to fall down unconscious. The Commander then noticed a slightly tired Cleveland holding a frying pan in her hand.

"I owe ya one Cleveland," he said, moving away from Belfast, yet taking her unconscious body out of the closet and resting her in the hall.

"I heard some strange noises so I came to check it out," she said.

"You always carry a frying pan on you?"

"This?" she said, pointing to her weapon and chuckled "I keep this with me just in case. Come on, let's go to my room. You'll be safe there."

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, the Commander nodded in agreement. The two of them then ran down a few hallways before they came to her room. Cleveland went in first, followed by the Commander, who locked the door but looked through the peephole.

"Something weird is going on tonight Cleveland," he said "First Enterprise, then Akagi, now Belfast… they're all acting really different than usual. It's like they're under some spell or something."

"I think they are," she said "from what I gather, there was something up with the punch that made them act the way they did."

"Wait, everyone drank from those bowls," he said, turning to her in shock "does that mean everyone's going to act crazy?"

"No, if that were true then the halls will be flooded with the girls," she said "but they're asleep. I think the effects are only working on a few of the girls."

"Well that's good. I can stay here and wait things out," he said, returning to looking out the peephole.

"Hey Commander," said Cleveland, twiddling her index fingers "what do you see, when you look at me?"

"I see my friend," he replied "you're strong, reliable and trustworthy. You helped me out a lot of times both on and off the battlefield and I'll always appreciate your hard work."

"But what if….. I want more than that?"

"Huh?"

"What if I don't want to be your friend? What if I want more?"

"Cleveland what are you….."

He noticed that Cleveland had taken off her trademark poncho and looked at him with a vulnerable expression. This and the combination of the moonlight shining down on her to give her an ethereal glow made the Commander realize something.

'Oh good god!,' he screamed in his mind 'of all the times to realize that Cleveland's gorgeous.'

"Tell me Commander, what do you see now?"

As much as he wanted to answer that question or form a string of words in an effort to answer that question, the door he was standing behind was blown away by a combination of Akagi and Enterprise, with Belfast behind them.

"Hah, I told you he was here," said Akagi, tapping her nose "the nose knows."

"Whatever, whatever, move aside and let the heroine rescue her hero now," stated Enterprise, pushing past her.

"If anyone's the heroine in this story, its me," shouted Akagi.

"No it's me," shouted Enterprise.

"You two are both wrong because it's me," shouted Belfast.

"It doesn't matter what any of you think because the Commander just got stolen," shouted Cleveland, ending the argument.

"I got here just in time," said Roon, carrying the Commander while running through the hallways.

"How'd you know something was wrong?" he asked.

"Enterprise," she replied, "I came out to have a drink of milk and saw Enterprise in the hallway. At first I didn't think too much but then I remembered she was headed in the same direction your room was in. After following the trail of insanity, I came here and snatched you."

"Thanks Roon," he said

"We'll hide out in my room, I'll keep you safe," she said.

It didn't take long for them to return to her room. When they did, he made sure to lock the doors and close the windows.

"Now that I think about it," he said, "it'll be better if I get out of here. The woods nearby should provide me plenty of space to hide till this all blows over."

As he thought about how long he'd have to keep running and estimating how much time it'd take for sunrise, he felt two very soft objects pressing into his back.

"Commander," said Roon, resting her head on his back "do you know the story of us PR ships?"

"Um… yes," he said "Roon, you're wearing clothes on right?"

"I have some clothes on, not all of them," she replied. He nearly turned around to see if that was true but she turned his head so that it faced forward.

"The PR ships, what do you know about us?"

"I know that development for the six of you began during the first war. But the cost of it was too high so whoever was in charge of the whole thing scrapped the project," he replied "then it was silent till the second war, where you and Saint Louis, Neptune, Ibuki, Izumo and Monarch saved my fleet."

"Sharp as ever," she said, giving out a light chuckle "we were there for so long, I thought that we'd be stuck in those tubes for all eternity. Then, I heard your voice and how you were bringing the program back. When we came to life, we all wondered what kind of person you were. Were you good or bad? would you use our power for your benefit or for everyone elses?"

"I was so nervous when I first met you," she continued "I thought you might not like me or might get scared of me."

"In the end, you were every bit the leader I hoped you were," she said, coming closer and putting her arms around him. "You were nice to all of us, you treated us with kindness and in turn, the six of us swore our absolute loyalty to you."

Then the Commander was pushed onto bed and before he could try to escape, Roon was on top of him, in only her pink colored underwear.

"But I want more," she said, giving him a warm and at the same time terrifying smile.

"The thing is Commander, I'll do anything you ask me to. Whether it's normal or perverse, hell I'll wage war with the world if you ask me to…"

'Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body,' he thought, noticing her right hand rise up to her chest.

"In return," she said, undoing the strap on the front of her bra, causing it to open but not fully reveal her chest. Slowly and carefully, she came closer to him, reducing their distance with each second.

"I want you to give me my first permanent scar," she whispered in a way that made his heart race.

'Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, Dead body, ' he thought, trying in vain.

Due to his own airheadedness, it was only during the summer party event that the Commander realized his situation. He was on a planet with many beautiful women. Fearing that he might say something inappropriate or act in a way that will damage his relationship with the girls, the Commander adopted a form of aversion therapy to help calm his mind.

Whenever he felt he was having any incorrigible thoughts, the Commander imagined the most disgusting thing he could and divert his mind. This included rotting hummus, spoilt food, a corpse being eaten by maggots, the smell of a dead beach whale and other horrendous thoughts.

'Dead body rotting on a hot day, dead body on a hot day, dead hot body, hot body… oh god it isn't working,' he screamed internally, unable to mount any defense both physical and mental against Roon's attack.

Just as she was about to take her approach a step further, there was a bang on the door. He was about to call out but Roon covered his mouth with her hand in order to shut him up.

"Roon I know you're in there," shouted Enterprise.

"Yep, it's just me," she said, while the Commander's muffled screams did not make it past the bed

"We know that the Commander is there as well," added Beflast "let us in."

"Why would he be here?"

"Damn it Roon you can't fool me," shouted Akagi, "I recognize the Commander's scent anywhere."

"Damn it," shouted Roon just as the door burst open and in came Enterprise, Akagi, Belfast and Cleveland.

"Get off him," shouted Enterprise, as she and Akagi yanked Roon off the Commander.

"I can't believe you would try something like this Roon," said Enterprise.

"Don't be so surprised," said Akagi "I always felt something was off with her from the start."

"You can't blame me for taking the initiative," she said, getting to her feet "and I would've gotten away with it too if not for you meddling kids."

"Speaking of getting away," said Belfast, standing half by the door "he's escaped."

"We really need to keep an eye on him," said Cleveland.

Meanwhile, the Commander purposely ran through as many different hallways as he could. He'd even run through the same place once or twice in order to throw off Akagi's scent. Then, when he was sure he couldn't be tracked, he bounded for the exit. Once he was outside, he'd head to the nearby forest and hide out there till morning comes.

But as he opened the door and darted outside, he was sent back by the impossibly tall figure standing at the door.

"Hello Commander," said Friedrich.

"Friedrich," he said and screamed internally. She was scary enough on her own. If whatever was affecting the girls was also affecting her, then he needed to get as much distance from her as he could.

"What are you doing Commander?" she asked.

"Going out for a light stroll. No biggie, you can just let me go now."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because it's nice outside?"

"Indeed it is. A night like this it's boring to be by yourself. Why don't I accompany you Commander?"

"Well that's not something you need to trouble yourself overaaahhh," he said as Friredrcih grabbed him and kept him close to her.

"Ah, just in time," she said and noticed the others had caught up to them.

"Damn it I thought that running around would throw you off," he said.

"It did," said Enterprise

"But then we realized that you'll be heading for the exit so we came here," said Belfast.

"Sorry girls," said Friedrich stepping forward "but you're not laying a finger on my Commander here."

"Friedrich think about it," said Akagi "if we fight, this place is going to get destroyed, we'll all get hurt and the Commander will escape."

"So what do you propose then?"

"A truce."

"Hmm," she said, while grabbing the Commander by the collar to keep him from escaping again.

"Yes you're right. We're all allies here. No need to fight."

"What?" shouted the Commander.

"Girls calm down," he said as they approached him while he ran to the nearest wall, unfortunately trapping himself.

"Think about it, really think about it. i'm sure that if we all sit down and think about this properly, we can assess the situation and reach a calm and informed conclusion."

"Oh Commander we've already reached the conclusion," said Roon, as the group drew closer "you just weren't part of the discussion."

"Girls, ladies please lets be reasonable here. Girls, girls...ahhhhh!"

**000000000000000000000**

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled, shooting out of his bed like a rocket.

"Ah, Master," said Belfast, sitting by his bed and shocked at his outburst.

"AH! scary maid," he said and Belfast frowned at him.

"That's rather a rude thing to say," she said, clearing her throat "after all that time I spent keeping watch over you."

"Huh?"

"Honestly, you should have told us you couldn't handle liquor that well."

"Huh? what do you mean?"

"You don't remember getting blind drunk and passing out after dancing with so many girls?" asked Belfast.

"No," he said, shaking his head slowly "I can honestly say I did not remember that."

"The long and short of it was that you got drunk and asked me to help you to your room before you made a fool of yourself. I did and decided to stay here keeping watch over you. I must admit Commander, even when you're drunk it is admirable to see how concerned you are about your image."

"Wait… I was drunk?"

"Yes, that's what I've been saying."

"So last night didn't happen?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Last night some of the girls were acting really crazy," he replied "and you fired me and Roon nearly kissed me and Cleveland looked incredible in the moonlight and Friedrich…"

"Honestly Commander, have you stopped to think about it?" asked Belfast "doesn't that all sound crazy? I mean, since when do maids fire their masters?"

"Well it does make sense when you put it like that," he said, nodding in agreement "now that I think about it, it does sound like a dream."

"Yes it was."

"You're right Belfast," he said, sighing a little "It was a dream, it had to be. Makes sense really: one girl liking me is pretty lucky, half a dozen sounds like a dream."

"Thanks for that Belfast," he said grabbing a towel and heading out the door "I'm going to go freshen up."

"My pleasure Commander," she said and watched him leave. Then, she counted to ten in her mind and said "thus the lie is the truth now."

As she said that, Cleveland and Roon rolled out the bed while Friedrich, Akagi and Enterprise came out of the dressing room.

"I can't believe he bought that," said Enterprise.

"Well we're lucky he did," said Akagi "last night was…."

"I honestly think we went too far with him last night," said Cleveland, rubbing her head.

"I agree," said Friedrich.

"While we may never find out the culprit responsible for what caused us to act the way we did last night," said Belfast "let us relax in the knowledge that our relationship with the Commander continues as is."

"Agreed," said the group in unison.

"Now, let's go eat breakfast," she said.

"I feel like we're forgetting something," said Enterprise.

"If you're forgetting something then it isn't important," said Roon.

**000000000000000000000**

Stepping out of the shower, the Commander started rubbing his hair and face with a towel. He came forward a little and rubbed the steam coated mirror before him. It was then that he noticed something…. odd.

"Please be mosquito bites," he said to himself, in the hopes that the 'bites' on his chest and arms were the cause of a blood sucking insect and not anything else.

**(AN: that was a long one to write. The next chapter will have new alliances forged, new talents emerge and equal parts of comedy as well. And if you spot any misspellings or wrongly spelt out words, please tell me in a PM. Thanks.)**


	39. Passionate Polaris

"Turn," he called out. In response, Z23, Graf Spee, Graf Zeppelin, Tirpitz and he turned so that their backs were facing the sun.

"It's nice doing nothing," he said, turning to Z23 "I miss this."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts," he said "in another two days, school will be starting."

"Huh?" asked Z23, her expression changing from blissful to troubled, as if that was the last thing she wanted to hear.

**000000000000000**

Now that the war was over, the question of what happens next became an all important one to address. It was important to have work that would involve as many members of the fleet as possible.

On one side the Commissions continued unabated. An extra supply of fuel and the cash requirements to change the theme of the dorm room ensured a number of the girls was always busy. Then came the subject of food, which also involved a significant portion of the fleet working daily to catch fish and prepare enough food for more than three hundred girls.

This was enough to keep at least half of the fleet busy. But the other half didn't have anything to do. On one hand, given that a war was just waged and won, everyone deserved a long period of rest and relaxation. On the other hand, too much of rest will make anyone lazy, which could prove problematic in the long run.

The answer came to him a couple weeks ago when he was playing with the children after they finished classes with Yorktown.

"Higher Commander," yelled Thatcher, while sitting on the Commanders shoulders. He in turn, stood on his toes and around the field as Unicorn, Foote, Spence, Charles Ausburne, Kisaragi, Mutsuki and the others chased him around.

"Children don't tire out the Commander alright," called Yorktown, who was seated underneath a tree and took a sheet out, where she laid down some sandwiches and slices of fruit. She watched the kids take turns riding on his back and after they tired him out, the group arrived at the mat and started consuming the snacks.

While the kids were eating and still playing, the Commander was lying on the grass.

"Commander," she said, chuckling at him pointing to some of the clouds in the sky "I know I've asked this many times but, don't you get tired of playing with the kids?"

"Nonsense," he replied "it reminds me of when I used to stay at a friend's place when it was the holidays. She had a family of two brothers and one sister so whenever the parents went out on a date or something, I'd be in charge of the kids. Speaking of which, have the kids ever built a pillow fort?"

"What's a pillow fort?" she asked "is it exactly like the name says?"

"It's not as big as an actual fort is," he replied "but it'll be another fun thing to do with the kids. I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries or anything."

"What boundaries?" she asked "the kids love playing with you and I for one welcome the time I get to relax and unwind."

"Is it tiring?"

"At times, yes. I love the children and teaching them gives me a purpose but… at times I do wish I had some help. Initially it was only just the kids from the Eagle Union. Now that the Sakura Empire, Iron Blood and Royal Navy have joined, it takes considerable effort."

"Then let's do that," he said, rising up from the grass.

"Do what?"

"Get you your help," he replied "there's a teacher and the students. All we need is more teachers and we'll have a proper school in place."

"Um Commander," she said, pointing out a particular problem to his plan "we don't have the space for a school."

"Then we'll make one."

After that, it didn't take long for the Commander to design a two-story school building. Each floor had three classes with a locker room at the entrance for students. Both floors came equipped with a bathroom and the ground floor had a special room for the teachers.

As for the teachers, he had Lexington in charge of music, Kaga for mathematics, Friedrich for history, Ranger for physics, Hornet for Home Economics, Yat Sen for art, Vestal was the head nurse and Enterprise was in charge of physical training.

Vestal still remained in the hospital and was only needed in the event anything happened to the kids and Enterprise's physical training was just her letting the kids play around in the field. It did not at entail any form of actual physical training (much to the teacher's dismay).

With the teachers and students in place, construction work began. It took about two weeks to finish the project, reminding the Commander how efficient and fast the girls were.

**Two days before the official launch**

"My sister," said Kaga, down on one knee, with her head lowered "I have made the necessary arrangements for you. All that is left is to don the garments and invoke the sacred ritual."

"Thank you Kaga," said Akagi smiling and looking into the distance. All that she needed had unknowingly fallen into her lap. It would be foolish of her not to take advantage of this.

**Day of the launch**

Rather than dole out some crazy speech or cut the ribbon with a pair of ridiculously long scissors, the Commander simply inaugurated the school by being the first person to open the doors. With that done, the kids rushed into the building and nearly knocked him down. In an attempt to create some uniformity among the students, he also designed a uniform for the kids.

The girls had a long grey skirt, a white shirt and on top of the shirt was a light blue waistcoat with lines of white on the edges and a red tie.

"I just realized something," said Enterprise, to the Commander "this is a pretty nice occasion. Shouldn't we take a few photos of it?"

"Oh I already got that covered," he said, followed by him snapping his fingers. In response, a woman with short, black hair appeared out of nowhere. In her left hand was a camera with a large lens and in her right were multiple storage cards.

"You called?" asked Ark Royal.

"Go crazy, take as many pictures as you like," he said.

In response Ark Royal was about to leave but the Commander quickly stopped her.

"One more thing," he added, giving his command a little more thought.

"Let's keep things PG alright."

Ark Royal was visibly disappointed upon hearing this and begrudgingly switched out her large camera lens with a regular one. With that done, she went inside the building, no doubt summoning the motivation needed to do the job, now that the wind was knocked out of her proverbial sails.

"Commander?" called out Enterprise, "is it a good idea giving Ark Royal free reign like that?"

"That's why I have Friedrich."

**00000000000000000**

"Target is in place," said Shokaku "your orders my lady?"

"None needed. Thank you Shokaku," said Akagi.

In a change from her usual red skirt, white top and black cape, Akagi had an enlarged version of the school's uniform made for her. She had a small black bag on her side and a piece of toast with jam packed in a box. Upon hearing the Commander was coming down the street, she took her position at a nearby street, took out the slice of toasted jam and held a portion of it in her mouth.

It was time to invoke the ancient ritual.

"Oh no," she said, pretending to run in a dainty way and look desperate at the same time "I'm late for school."

As she neared the turning, she saw the Commander and 'accidentally' bumped into him.

"Kyaah," she said, pretending to feign injury when she fell on her behind.

"Oh no Commander don't look," she said and covered the lower part of her skirt. "You saw it didn't you, now I can't get married."

Then, she covered her face and pretended to cry.

'That's right,' she thought 'this is exactly how the ancient ritual went in Amagi's books. All's that's left to do is for the Commander to reach out and pick me up and we'll be together forever."

"Oh woe is me," she said "my maidenly heart…."

Usually by now he would have actually helped her up. But when no help came, Akagi stopped her sobbing.

"Huh?" she said, getting to her feet. At this moment, she noticed the Commander was lying in the dirt a good distance from where the two met.

"Ah that's right," she said to herself "I forgot about the strength difference."

After Enterprise heard what had happened, Akagi was banned from the island for at least a week.

**0000000000000000000**

Three weeks after the school had opened, the Commander was summoned to the research division to meet with Akashi, Shiranui, Purin and Buri.

"It's not often I get called here," he said, "is there anything of concern?"

"Nothing like that Commander," said Akashi, alleviating all concerns he had upon entering the base.

"There is something, that we'd like to tell you," said Buri.

"Take a look at this Commander," said Purin and alongside her sister, the pair typed a string of letters and commands onto the keyboard behind them, causing multiple holographic images that were too quick for him to figure out.

"During our retrofitting process and improving the weapons for all the girls…." began Purin.

"…..the research had an unintended side effect of creating five 'tools'," continued Buri "however, because we did not have much information about these tools, we had to shelve them till a later date."

"Now that the dust has settled," continued Purin "we'd like to bring these tools to your attention."

The slew of data started to slow down and the Commander saw five familiar objects appearing on screen. A mic, a guitar, a bass guitar, a keyboard and a drum set.

"Girls those things aren't tools, they're musical instruments."

"We know that," said Akashi in a matter-of-fact way "what we wanted to tell you is that we've found five girls in the fleet that can be fitted with these new instruments."

"Is that right? I'd like to meet those girls if you don't mind."

"Can we get this over with quickly?" asked Shiranui "I have inventory to evaluate.

Without taking too long, the selected girls had assembled in the research room. There was Akagi, Hipper, Cleveland, Sheffield and Saint Louis. Purin and Buri went in first, explaining why they were called and what was required. Then, the Commander came in and asked them if they were interested in testing out these instruments.

After they all agreed, the five girls were fitted with the instruments. With that done, the group headed to the back of the base to test out the changes.

"Ready girls?" he asked.

Cleveland formed a pair of energy drums, Akagi formed a guitar, Sheffield formed a piano, Saint Louis formed a mic and Hipper formed a bass guitar. Once they got the go ahead from the Commander, they all started playing the instruments.

He expected the girls to be a little bad, given that none of them had any experience playing musical instruments, but he was honestly surprised at how well the group jelled together. Cleveland set the tempo with her drums, Akagi and Hipper played at the same speed, Sheffield provided an extra level of flair with the piano and Saint Louis' voice was pretty captivating to hear. She may not have sung any actual songs, sticking to loud hums, but her voice really did bring the performance together.

As the Commander watched them perform, his mind already planning what to do next, Akashi imagined how much of a profit she'd be making from whatever ideas her leader came up with. When the group was done, he started clapping in appreciation of their effort.

"Interesting," said Purin, looking at the portable computer she brought along for the test "it seems that their performance is directly linked to their emotional state."

"So the better their mood, the better the performance?" he asked.

"Yep," she replied "the muse system…."

"Muse system?" he repeated.

"The name of the tools the girls are using."

"I like it," said Sheffield

"It has a formal yet alluring vibe to it," added Akagi.

"As I was saying, the muse system has a better output when the girls are in a better mood," said Purin.

"Now that we've all shown that we can play music, what's next?" asked Hipper.

"Next," he replied, stroking his chin "next is where the fun begins."

**000000000000000**

"You're going to what now?" asked Saint Sheffield after hearing the Commander's plans.

"A concert," he replied to the group who were now seated in his office room "you five will main event the concert and we'll have plenty of other talent brought in as well."

"But where…." Said Cleveland.

"Commander," said Hiryuu from the Commander's tablet "we got the message."

"YOU ALREADY TOLD THEM?" shouted Hipper.

"Well duh," he said, as he and Hiryuu looked at the girls, wondering why they were so surprised "things have already been set in motion now. There's no point trying to stop this train."

"What do you need Soryuu and I for Commander?" she asked through the screen.

"Spread the word," he replied "In month we're going to have a huge concert here, with the main event being this beautiful group you see here. We'll call them 'The Museicians.'

He continually raised his eyebrows up and down, in the hopes that the girls with him and the girls listening would catch his joke. Sadly, none of them did.

"How about, Polaris?" asked Hiryuu.

"Oh I like that," said Saint Louis.

"Yes, let's go with that," said Sheffield "it sounds a lot better than the other ideas."

Feeling a stabbing pain in his chest, the Commander quickly shook off the barb made at him and continued. "But I want more groups to come and perform. It doesn't matter if you're a solo act or a group, just register your name and the rest will be sorted out."

"Alright Commander," said Hiryuu saluting him in response "we'll make sure to tell all the girls in the fleet."

"Good," he said, nodding "wait, also make sure the prizes this time are something normal. I don't like being auctioned off like what happened during the beach event."

"Ahahahahah," said Soryuu now coming onto the screen "Commander why would you think we'd do that?"

"I can see Hiryuu pushing away a stack of papers behind her," he replied. This was followed by an uneasy ten seconds of silence between the trio.

"Ah, we're going through a tunnel," shouted Soryuu and shut off the monitor.

"With this," he said, tapping his fingers together "things are moving into place."

"We're also going to need matching clothes Commander," suggested Cleveland.

"I'll go call Lexington. I'm sure she can whip something up," he said, shooting out the room.

**00000000000**

True to their word, Hiryuu and Soryuu started telling everyone in the fleet about the upcoming event. As this happened, the Commander was tasked with helping the group Polaris to train and prepare for the event.

"Come on guys what happened to you?" he asked after hearing their latest attempt "everyone was out of sync, the lyrics were all over the place…."

"Well if someone just kept in tempo with the rest instead of just going off on her own…" said Hipper.

"I was following the tempo," stated Akagi "you're the only one that's falling behind."

As he watched the pair now argue, he noticed Eugen and Wales were walking by. They stopped when they saw him and waved out to greet him.

"Hey Commander," said Eugen "having trouble?"

"Yeah," he replied lowering his head "the girls were working so well together a couple days back."

"Hmm," said Eugen, noticing Hipper talking down everyone else. Taking a little initiative, she went to Hipper.

"And another thing…" shouted Hipper.

"Glowworm," interrupted Eugen.

Hipper almost immediately screamed in terror and quickly ran behind the Commander.

"There ya go," said Eugen with a smug look "anytime Hippy gets too lippy, just say Glowworm and she'll fold."

"I must admit that's a little too much don't you think?" asked Wales.

**000000000000000000**

About a week later and the Commander was going through the tablet, looking for the applications. He was confused when he found that there were no applications at all. This was why he called Hiryuu and Soryuu in an attempt to figure out the problem.

"It's not a problem Commander," said Hiryuu "we did what you asked, but, no one's applied."

"Is there any reason why?"

The two exchanged worried looks at each other then turned to answer him.

"It's because they're nervous,"

"I've seen these girls face down giant ships, run through a storm of fire, bullets and explosions."

"But that's different," said Soryuu "when it comes to fighting, the girls are up for a fight any time. But this is different. They're nervous that if they get on stage and perform, no one might like it."

"If that happens, morale will take a really bad hit," added Hiryuu

The Commander paused for a moment, thinking about things from their perspective.

"I understand that they're nervous," he said, "tell them it's not compulsory to apply or anything alright. If they want to then they can. Also, for whatever its worth, tell everyone that no matter what happens, I'll be there to cheer for them."

"Really?" asked Hiryuu, her ears perking up a little "you'll cheer for all the performers?"

"Of course," he replied "I got no music talent myself but I recognize the effort. And I will definitely appreciate the hard work the put in."

**000000000000000**

After Hiryuu and Soryuu uploaded a video of the Commander saying he'd support and appreciate everyone who performed, the applications started pouring in. At first, they were both very much surprised by the sudden rise in responses, but soon realized why it happened. Considering his popularity among the girls, held him in high regard. As a result, hearing him support them, regardless of the outcome certainly boosted the morale of many girls, ensuring their participation in the event.

Now that there were enough girls, started arranging the groups in the necessary order.

Meanwhile, the Commander's visit to Lexington proved successful and she had designed and made uniforms for Polaris. Once that was done, the girls were brought in for a fitting session.

Overall, the uniform was a white waistcoat with a tie and a black skirt at medium length. However, there were variations based on each girl. Akagi for example had a red tie, Saint Louis had on a short black coast, which she wore only halfway, Hipper's tie was black with a cross on it and Cleveland had a tie alternating in red and white, with a pair of short pants. Cleveland was also the only one in the group that did not wear leggings.

"Well Commander," asked Lexington, "what do you think of my latest creation?"

"I think it's great," he replied "better question is what do you girls think about it?"

"It does make me feel a little to exposed," said Saint Louis "it's not often I wear such little clothing."

"I know what you mean," said Cleveland with a nervous chuckle "how come I'm the only one here without any leggings?"

"Because its cruel to hide legs like that," replied Lexington.

"Huh? W-w-what's that supposed to mean?" asked Cleveland, blushing at the comment.

"I'm not the only one who thinks that, the Commander also feels the same way."

"Huh?" he shouted, turning to Lexington, then turned to Cleveland, who was blushing even more now.

"C-Commander," she said looking at him "d-do you really think I look that good?"

Thanks to Lexington's reply, he was in a tough spot. If he said no, it might have an effect on Cleveland's morale and thereby the group. But if he said yes, then he'd sound like a pervert and that might affect his image.

In the end, he had no choice but to take the risk.

"Yes Cleveland," he said, calmly "you do look pretty in those clothes. I wouldn't have used the same words as Lexington might have…."

Lexington chuckled a little at that comment.

"…. But yes, you do look nice. In fact, all of you look great in those clothes," he added, in an attempt to keep from any rumors about him from forming.

"Have you started working on outfits for the other girls?" he asked, turning to Lexington.

"I only received the mail from Huryuu and Soryuu today," she replied "I'll of course get started on it tomorrow."

"Thanks, I'm counting on you. If you need any help, get Saratoga in on this as well."

**000000000000**

Between managing the girls and overseeing production of the event, the Commander was busy for most of the day, with small moments of rest here and there. This in turn meant that much of his duties fell into the hands of Z23 and Belfast.

The second week into concert preparation and Z23 found herself seated on a park bench eating lunch Friedrich prepared for them. She took a moment to relax a little, her mind drifting off as she watched the clouds.

"Nimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii," shouted a voice from the distance, getting closer with each second. Z23 froze, realizing only three girls in the world used that name on her.

It came as no surprise to her that she was soon knocked into the ground by a young girl with light-purple hair, tied up. Her usual attire was replaced by a white sailor's uniform and a pink ascot tied around her.

"Javelin!" exclaimed Z23 "you're…. here."

"Of course I am," said the girl who was on top of her "and I didn't come alone either."

"Javelin pointed behind her and Z23 saw a girl in light-brown hair, carrying a white-haired girl with bunny ears and pigtails.

"Ayanami…. And Laffey. You're all here,"

"Yep," said Javelin pulling her up "how I've missed you for so long."

"Where were you girls?" asked Z23, "I didn't see you at all during the war."

"We were there," said Ayanami and dropped Laffey onto the bench "just with everything going on and you looking so busy, we didn't want to disturb you."

"But now, the starter squad is finally back together again," declared Javelin.

"Who thought of a name like that?" asked Ayanami.

'Probably the Commander,' thought Z23. He was terrible at naming things.

"There's also something else Javelin wanted," said Laffey, rising up and showing some life in her.

"I'm getting to that," said Javelin and turned to Z23 "Nimi…"

"I'm not Nimi"

"Nimi, let's form an idol group and participate in the event."

"What?" said Z23, taken aback "but…. But…. I have work."

"Leave that and come with us," said Javelin.

"We already submitted our names and are now going to meet Lexington for a fitting," added Ayanami.

"You already told her," shouted Z23, but it was too late. Despite her reluctance, she was joining the group.

**000000000000000000000**

The time was night, the mood in the air was electric. The crowd had gathered and with multiple floodlights shining in the sky like beacons, it was time to start the event.

The stage was set and the crowd had arrived. Everyone was all muttering and murmuring amongst themselves, wondering what was going to happen.

Then, the stage infront of them released a puff of smoke and from it, emerged Hiryuu and Soryuu, placed back to back, each carrying a mic in their hand.

"Welcome one and all," said Hiryuu "to the first ever music concert in the world, or as well call it…."

"Crescendo of Polaris," they said together.

"This concert will see musical talent all on display," said Soryuu "and what a line up we've got.

"But wait, there's more," added Hiryuu "among the participants, the three best will also receive a heap of prizes."

"Is one of those prizes the Commander?" shouted a voice from the crowd.

"Unfortunately no," said Soryuu, shaking her head, followed by a collective 'aw.'

"The Commander's not on the market but that shouldn't deter our performers here," said Hiryuu "also, let's introduce our panel of judges who will assess the performances and decide the three best of the night."

The spotlight then moved the left of three chairs placed a few feet away from the stage.

"Firstly," said Soryuu as a light shone on the chair "the leader of the Yorktown trio, this woman is a beloved teacher to the kids, give it up, for Yorktown."

"Hello everyone," said Yorktown, looking a little flustered "this is my first time and I'll try my best."

"Second," said Hiryuu and the spotlight moved to the second seat "known as the Dragon of Omens, this woman's imposing height is only as terrifying as the weapons she wields. Give it up for Friedrich."

"Hello all," said Friedrich with a gentle wave "I am looking forward to this event."

"And lastly," said Soryuu and the spotlight moved to the third seat "we all know him, we all fought for him and we'll never forgive him for making everyone cry, let's all say hello to the Comman…..der?"

As the light shone on him, everyone saw that the Commander had changed out of his regular outfit into something else. Instead of his usual clothes, he now had on a pair of jeans, a white shirt on top of which was a multicolored shirt that was unbuttoned, a headband which said 'I love Polaris' and glowsticks in-between his fingers.

"What?" he asked, noticing how the whole place got silent.

Needless to say, his reputation among the girls took a deep hit that day.

"Anyway," said Soryuu in an attempt to steer things back to normal "let's get on with the show."

"Everyone, let's put our hands together for the team of Hornet, San Diego, Downes and Cassin singing 'I am number one.'"

With that the concert began in full. The three judges gave their opinions and the next group was introduced.

"Next up is the starter squad singing 'adrenaline,'" declared Hiryuu. This was followed by Laffey, Javelin, Z23 and Ayanami giving an energetic and very lively performance. Once that was done, the four of them bowed and came forward.

"Good work all of you," said Yorktown, clapping "I admire the work you all put into this song."

"I commend how you were all able to coordinate those moves in such a short time," added Friedrich.

"Great work girls, I love it," said the Commander "And Z?"

"Yes?"

"I'm totally calling you Nimi from now on," he said with a devilish smile.

"Now comes the first solo performance of the night," said Soryuu "she's young and soft but her heart is as big as her dreams. Please give a warm welcome to Unicorn singing 'my night.'"

Unicorn slowly and nervously came up to the stage, followed by the music playing. Unlike her usual white dress, Unicorn this time wore on a deep blue, flowing dress that was yellow on the inside. She also tied her hair into two tails. She seemed a little hesitant at first, but after seeing the Commander smiling at her, she raised her mic up and started singing.

"Commander, quick question," said Friedrich, turning to him "why aren't you going overboard with Unicorn like you normally do?"

"Ah, well I already have something in place," he replied, pointing to the side of the stage. Friedrich turned in the direction he was pointing to and saw Ark Royal clicking away with her camera.

"I'm a proud older(self-proclaimed) brother," he said.

Unicorn finished her song and the trio provided their thoughts. She slowly made her way off stage

"Now let's give a round of applause to the group of Denver, Columbia, Monteplier and Cleveland, singing '13 battle stars,'" declared Hiryuu.

The song was a pretty energetic one and gave Cleveland the opportunity to display her vocal talent. It was the first song of the night that got the crowd also chanting in tempo and added more liveliness to the event.

"Like those stars you really shone out there tonight Cleveland," said Yorktown after her performance was done.

"A beautiful performance all around," said Friedrich "your sisters really do a good job helping you showcase your talents Cleveland."

"After this performance, I think everyone here loves you as much as your sisters do," added the Commander.

"Put your hands together for our next solo performer of the night. She's strong and stoic, a symbol of freedom and a beacon of hope. Give it up, for Enterprise singing 'Phantom 9.'"

Enterprise was still in the same clothes she always wore, except without the black coat. Unlike the other songs, this one was filled with drama and sadness. There was also some hope in the lyrics and plenty of romance. The trio of Yorktown, Friedrich and the Commander all came forward a little, captivated by the performance Enterprise was giving.

Once that was done, Enterprise bowed to everyone then walked off the stage.

"Now ladies, it's time for the main event," said Hiryuu and Soryuu together "they are energetic, they are beautiful and at last, they are here. Let's all cheer as loud as we can for the main event, POLARIS!"

The crowed erupted in cheers as the group of Akagi, Saint Louis, Hipper, Cleveland and Sheffield came on stage. Pretty much everyone continued cheering throughout their performance, which only had a positive effect on the girl's mental state.

After they were done, the Commander presented a bouquet of flowers to all of them, followed by a quick handshake and a hug. Only Akagi wanted to keep the hug going for a little longer.

After the final performance of Polaris, it was time to dole out the prizes.

"In third place is…", said Hiryuu "…. 13 battle stars." The group came up and took their prizes, which looked like cosmetic changes to their weapons.

"In second place is…," said Soryuu "…My night." Unicorn seemed too nervous to come up on stage and get the prize on her own and so, the Commander accompanied her.

"And finally, the grand prize," said Hiryuu "the winner of tonight's first ever concert goes to…"

"…. Enterprise and Phantom 9."

Everyone in the audience cheered for Enterprise as she came up to take her prize. The judges also gave her a standing ovation, appreciating her performance and her efforts.

Watching the crowd and everyone cheer so loudly for Enterprise told the Commander that the event was a success.

**(AN: Congratulations. If you have been following this story since chapter 1 then you have unlocked the 'True Ending' chapter. For real though, the next chapter will cover the Commander's last and most important adventure.)**


	40. True End

What do you want in life?

This is the question posed to everyone in the world at an early age. When this question is asked, the person is meant to look inside or to dream outside. This question would define the person they would become and the aspirations they would have.

The question itself is simple, yet the answers are as many as you can imagine. Some want wealth and money, some want power, others want love and there are some who pursue knowledge. Nearly everyone wants something big out of life and lives in a way to make that dream happen.

Yet, there are those, those rare few in the world who do not want anything lofty or grandiose. Strange as it may be to hear, there are people in the world who have simple goals and ideals.

One such person was seated in a leather chair, with his left arm locked inside a machine. He saw the girls near a keyboard, clacking away a string of commands and prompts. When they finished their work on the system, the machine beside him hummed to life, followed by a sudden stinging feeling on his left side.

"You can hold my hand if you want Commander," said Graf Spee, noticing his expression.

"Thanks, but it's not as bad as I thought," he said, remaining calm. The machine process continued for a little longer, then stopped.

"There," said Z25, all done now.

He took his arm out from the machine and saw his new arm. It looked a lot 'beefier' than the original one, but the added weight was meant to make it feel like an actual arm. Also, unlike Z25's which was red and black, his arm was purely red.

The Commander opened and closed his hand a few times, turned it left and then right, making sure it was responding well.

"Thanks a lot for creating this for me," he said, undoing his straps and getting off the chair.

"Nonsense Commander," said Graf Zeppelin, patting him on the back "why would we let you run around with that hunk of junk when we've got such advanced technology on our side."

He was a little concerned at Zeppelin's declaration. Apparently, the advanced technology in his world was pretty much a joke in this world.

Once again thanking Graf Spee, Graf Zeppelin and Z25 for upgrading his arm, the Commander left the Iron Blood building and was brought back to the main island.

He was one of those rare few people in the world. The ones that only want the simple things in life and are content with just that. Sure, he had ambitions of wanting to be a leader and doing his best in the Navy, but after he did his time and retired, all he wanted out of life were two things.

A home and a family.

It might be easy to write these two things off as something complicated, but that was not true at all. When it came to a home, as long as it had four walls, a roof and gave him a place to sleep, that was enough for him.

And as for family, it was a goal that he did want but could live without. At times, he'd imagine being the same abusive father he had growing up and fearing the person he could be, he resolved to not go down that path.

Despite the curveballs and twists that fate threw at him, the Commander found that he had what he wanted. He had a home with four walls, a roof over his head and plenty of clothes to wear and he had a family. Sure it wasn't a traditional one, but everyone in the fleet welcomed him and considered him one of their own. He had all that he needed and was not the type of person who'd grow bored with what he had and want more.

Today marked seven months since his return to the world and life of peace and quiet. That term was used liberally in this case as everyday had some kind of antic going on. But compared to the looming threat of war, this was a welcome change of pace.

The Commander arranged his documents on the table and was about to leave, when he noticed his tablet blinking.

"Ah, that's right," he said, remembering how little he used the device in his time here. Initially it was meant to help him assign the girls for going on commissions, but since he was a hands-on guy, the device was used very infrequently. To his recollection, this was the first time he saw the top part of the device blinking.

Curious, he turned it on and saw the message appearing on the main screen.

"Congratulations," said the message in big letters, with text underneath.

"Because of the relationships you've built, you are entitled to '1 oath'. Please click the box below to accept your prize."

'An oath?' he thought, wondering if that was something literal or something else.

"Well it doesn't sound too bad," he said, considering the display of the message being festive and not wary "What's the harm?"

He pressed the button prompt at the end of the message, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. Understandably a little deflated after this, the Commander now turned his attention to what he was going to do today. After asking the girls for long enough, Oklahoma and Nevada finally gave in and let him accompany them on one of their commission projects. Since it was the sole reason why he was able to change the décor in the dorm room, he wondered how these commissions worked.

With that in mind, he quietly left the tablet on the sofa and headed out the door, completely unaware.

**000000000000000000000**

Belfast's day started off like usual. Following a bath and breakfast, she took to cleaning her master's office. Since he was off to observe a commission project, this was her chance to do her job and not have her master do it for her. If she did a good job here, then she could use it as a way to convince her master that she was better at cleaning than he was and that he should let her spoil him instead of being independent.

'I never thought I'd want to spoil someone till now,' she thought, swabbing the floor. She moved back and accidentally banged into the table, which unsettled some of the objects.

Concerned about her mistake, she quickly set about arranging everything once again. As she carefully put everything into place, she noticed a small, elegant box located in the center of the table. Curious, she picked up the box and shook it a little, hearing something knocking about inside.

"I wonder," she muttered to herself, examining the box in an effort to find out what was inside without actually opening the box. Try as she might though, she could not fully figure out what was inside, after several attempts.

Belfast took a moment to consider her options here. She could leave the box where she found it and go about her day like nothing happened or she could open it. If she left it behind, it would certainly weigh on her mind throughout the day. This will have the effect of causing her to make a mistake during work and it could easily snowball into something that threatened the lives of everyone in the fleet.

Since this was done for the sake of everyone else, Belfast had no other choice but to open it.

At least, that's the lie she told herself to justify opening the box. She shook the sides a little and watched the box separate into two halves. When she looked at the second half, her eyes opened wide in shock.

**000000000000000000000**

The group of Enterprise, Akagi, Roon, Friedrich and Belfast were now assembled in the meeting room. After receiving a call from Belfast, the others assembled in the room. Here, their attention was brought to the seemingly inconspicuous box that started the mess in the first place.

The reason why this box caught the attention of the six girls was because of the object inside. It consisted of two metal circles, close together at the bottom but slightly apart at the top. At the top, there were two pieces of metal inserted into the gap in order to hold a small diamond.

It was a ring, but not just any ring; it was a wedding ring.

"And you found it on the table?" asked Enterprise to Belfast, who nodded.

"By the way, where's Cleveland?" asked Roon, noticing how the room was absent a certain member.

"She's being surrounded by many of her adoring fans," replied Belfast "they really liked her performance with her sisters."

"Back to the matter at hand," said Enterprise "you know what this ring means right?"

"Yes I do," said Akagi, standing up from her seat "I need to call Kaga and start sending out the invites."

"What, why?" asked Enterprise.

"For my wedding of course," she replied and nearly everyone fell out of their chairs.

"What?" shouted Belfast "and why do you think it'll be you?"

"Considering how close the two of us are," said Akagi "it only makes sense."

"No, it doesn't," corrected Enterprise "don't forget that you're not the only one who keeps coming into his room."

"This is getting us nowhere," said Friedrich, bringing in some reason to the situation "what we need to do is figure out which of us is the most likely choice."

"Well that's…." said Roon.

"But we have to ask someone else," interjected Friedrich "someone who knows us, the Commander and knows what kind of decisions he'd make."

"Considering he thought it was okay to stick a Siren arm to his body means that none of us here will ever understand what goes on in that mind of his," countered Belfast.

"At least someone close enough," said Enterprise.

**0000000000000000**

"And this is why, you came to me?" asked Yorktown to the group, while her class were busy reading.

"Exactly," said Enterprise "everyone here knows the Commander relies on you whenever he goes out on his missions…"

"And you figured I'd have the best insight to help find out what's going through his mind… " said Yorktown.

"And it all started with this," she added, closely examining the ring "it's funny to imagine that something so small could cause so much trouble."

"Yorktown," said Belfast "we need to know what he's thinking."

"Unfortunately I can't help you with that," she said, much to their disappointment "after all, I may have spoken to him and interacted with him a lot, but I still have no idea what goes on in that mind."

"However, I can at least help you figure out the most likely candidate," she added, which caught their attention.

"I think the best way to know which is the person is to try and figure out which of you have gotten closest to the Commander," she suggested.

"To elaborate," she added "nearly everyone here has held his hand at some point or the other. Additionally, he's had the habit of being tossed up many times, which means some of us have carried him."

"So you're saying that it'll have to be someone who's done something more than that," said Friedrich.

"Ah, well then," said Belfast, realizing this "that would be me."

"Huh?" asked the girls in the room (including Yorktown).

"The Commander and I have kissed, which is something no one else has done."

"That's not possible," suggested Roon.

"How come?" asked Yorktown.

"Because I've been recording his movements ever since I joined the fleet and not once did I see the two of you get so close," she replied.

"Well that's because it happened on a mission," countered Belfast.

"Elaborate," said Friedrich.

"It was when he was attacked by one of the Sirens and kept her busy in order to buy us time to complete the plan," said Belfast "the plan was successful, but the Commander got caught in the flood and nearly drowned. Worrying for his safety, I gave him 'the kiss of life.'"

"That doesn't count," interjected Enterprise.

"Of course, it does," countered Belfast "it was a kiss."

"Akagi, tell Belfast here, oh she fainted."

The group had to pause for a moment as the leader of the Sakura Empire was lying unconscious on the floor, no doubt in that state as a result of Belfast's statement. It took a little time for Akagi to wake up. By then, the group had decided to leave Yorktown alone and tackle the subject on their own, instead of involving her.

This was why the group were seated by the beach, watching the waves roll in and seeing the sun set beyond the horizon. Friedrich was enjoying the scenery, Roon was playing in the sand, Akagi watched the waves roll forward and back, Enterprise seemed deep in thought and Belfast was lying on the sand, looking at the sky.

"When I think about it," said Enterprise, reaching into her pocket and taking out the ring "an object this small has caused us more trouble than we expected."

"What object?" asked a familiar voice from behind them. The five girls blinked a couple of times then turned around and saw the Commander standing behind them, looking puzzled.

"Hey girls," he said, noticing their troubled looks "Yorktown told me something was going on with you, but she didn't tell me what exactly."

They quickly scrambled to their feet and dusted the sand off their body. To answer the question, he was trying to get to, Enterprise held out the ring for him to see.

They noticed how surprised he was upon seeing the ring, but then they saw him pause and perhaps recall something important.

"Commander?" asked Roon.

"I remember now," he said, holding the ring "in the morning, I saw a message about a reward. Thinking that it'd be something great to share with everyone, I accepted."

"So you didn't know?" asked Akagi.

"Of course not," he said, still looking at the ring "if I was planning to ask a girl to marry me, I'd never leave the ring on the table like that."

"So, um Commander," said Enterprise, looking a little fidgety "do you have someone?"

"Hmm?" he asked, raising an eyebrow to the question, then understanding what she meant.

"The thing about it is, I've never really given it any thought."

"Why Commander?" asked Akagi, "do you not…. Like us?"

"What? No. I do like you," he replied "hell, in my world there'd be guys practically fighting each other just to hold your hand."

"I never really thought much about marriage because, I thought it was being greedy."

"What?" asked Belfast, having trouble understanding his statement.

"Growing up, I only wanted two things in life: a home and a family. Being in the Navy, I learnt that there were people I could rely on and trust without being related to them. When I came here, I had a place to call my own and the trust of everyone here. I had everything I ever wanted and this was enough for me. I didn't want to be selfish and think about what matters more to me or greedy and want more than that."

"But Commander," said Friedrich, "doesn't that sound like an excuse?"

"Come again?"

"We may not know your life before you came here," she began "but we know that it has shaped your mindset a lot more than you care to admit. Because of that, you're content with staying still in one place after you have what you need. But that isn't living Commander, that's the opposite."

"Life is all about change, moving from one point to another. By staying here like this, you're denying yourself the chance to experience a long and fulfilling life."

He was silent, looking at the ring then examining it a little closely but also reflecting upon Friedrich's words.

"Alright, say I do decide to move forward," he said, "this is one ring and I hope you understand what that means. One girl is happy and the rest get rejected. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, we are," replied Enterprise, looking resolute.

"For once, you should be selfish Commander," said Akagi "stop thinking about how this affects us and think about what you want."

'What I want?' he thought, repeating her words in his mind. He'd be lying if he said he didn't think about the girls in a slightly more than professional way, but when that happened, he'd always brush those thoughts away out of fear of ruining their relationship.

But seeing as they too felt the same way, he did not need to hide his thoughts or feelings anymore.

It may be a simple gesture of putting a ring on a finger but the choice was no easy matter. Based on the conversation they had, he understood where their feelings were. They made their point clear and it was time for him to make a decision.

Enterprise was loyal and friendly, Belfast loved to spoil him and was the best fighter here, Akagi's personality was as hot as the fire based projectiles she used, Roon may seem a little too much but she meant well and Friedrich was kind and very protective of the people she loved.

Understanding the weight of his decision and coming to a conclusion, he came forward. The girls, seeing that he made his decision closed their eyes and mentally prepared themselves.

He reached out and held her hand. Then, he placed the ring on her finger and watched as a white light enveloped her. The light was strong enough that it caused him to cover his eyes and look away. After a few minutes, the light faded and he saw her, now dressed in a beautiful white-colored wedding dress. The only thing that was differently colored on her were her red cheeks, indicating a noticeable blush. Looking at her beautiful face, he smiled at her warmly.

Taking her hand once again, the commander asked the single most important question in his life.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes."

**(AN: with that the story has come to an end. Originally it was supposed to end with a madcap run across the base but then I decided to do a little character development. I did keep the choice of girl ambiguous because of the many 'moments' the MC has had with some of the girls so it could be any of the five of them.)**

**(Originally this FF was supposed to end in Ch 37 but thanks to questorimperialis102296's suggestion, I started thinking about a few extra chapters. It might not be as long as other Azur Lane FF's here but I'm happy with it. This was the longest story I've written and it did wayyyyyy better than I could have imagined. Thank you very much to the community for reading and appreciating this work.)**

**(PS: Thank you very much to Overtale, Han1945, starburst98, Vent-Hikari, Ultimate Kuuga, REVANOFSITHLORD and the Guest reviewers who were the most vocal reviewers.)**


End file.
